The Millennial Bee

Considered the pinnacle of the legend of the Czechoslovak new wave, the work delights with a unique form of magical realism, in which poetic realism seamlessly blends with the absurd, psychedelic intrusions and rich symbolism of dreams. Jakubisko guides the narrative through weddings, funerals and the elements of nature — from fire to snow and hail — operating with visual momentum, virtuoso camera work and multilingual dialogue (Slovak, Czech, Hungarian). The film won wide international recognition: it fought for the Golden Lion at the 40th Venice Film Festival, Czechoslovak critics hailed it as the best domestic film of the 80s, and today it occupies a high 22nd place in the list of the 100 best Czech films in the history of cinema.

“The Millennial Bee” directed by Juraj Jakubisko is a monumental historical saga of three generations of the Slovak Pichand family from 1887 to 1917. The action of this international co-production (Czechoslovakia, Germany, Austria) takes place in a remote corner of Austria-Hungary, where the fate of the family bricklayers and beekeepers — led by the senior played by Jozef Kroner and his son played by Štefan Kvietik — are a direct analogy to the life of a bee community in a hive. The queen bee becomes the figure of the great mother, personifying the national roots, identity and durability of traditions. For three decades, the daily lives of the heroes are filled with love, passion, hard work and hope, interspersed with the economic crisis, the growing nationalist movement and socialist resistance, until the cataclysm of the First World War.