Před maturitou (Before Graduation). 1932. Czechoslovakia. Directed by Vladislav Vancura, Svatopluk Innemann. Screenplay by Josef Neuberg, from a novel by Julius Schmitt. With Jindřich Plachta , František Smolík, Antonín Novotný. In Czech; English subtitles. 91 min.
The major Czech author Vladislav Vančura (Marketa Lazarová) turned his talents to filmmaking with this 1932 film, with technical support from the journeyman Svatopluk Innemann. An anti-authoritarian fable set, like Jean Vigo’s Zero de conduit and Lindsay Anderson’s If…, in a boarding school for boys, the film traces the friendship of two roommates, one naturally gifted and the other sullen and struggling, as they cope with the demands of an autocratic math teacher (the comedian Jindřich Plachta, in a rare dramatic role). 35mm.