02/11/2023 - The director talks about his doc centred on the twilight years of the former Czech president, who refused to slow down before passing away in 2011

World-premiering at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, Petr Jančárek’s documentary Havel Speaking, Can You Hear Me? [+see also:
interview: Petr Jančárek
film profile] focuses on the twilight years of former Czech president Václav Havel. But Havel, who passed away in 2011, refused to slow down, meeting people, shaking hands and even adapting his own play into a film, the only one he ever directed. 

Cineuropa: Why make a film about such an iconic person? Which side of him did you want to show?
Petr Jančárek: I started to work with him in 2003. I would film his video greetings — he used them whenever he wasn’t able to travel. Our relationship developed quickly. Later, in 2009, he asked me if I wanted to “film the rest of his life,” so of course I said yes. I still remember it. We were in his office, and he asked me to stay a bit longer. For a documentary director, there was only one answer: “Yes, thank you.”

At that time, I didn’t think about him being an icon, or even about what kind of film we could make together. I started to think about it after he passed away. 

He says that “you are ex-president forever.” He is clearly tired, but still trying his best.
And he is starting to fulfil his childhood dream! He was maybe 4 years old when he decided he would like to make a film of his own. His uncle [Miloš Havel] was a founder of Czech cinematography, the owner of Barrandov Studios. For young Václav it was normal to be surrounded by film stars and directors. During the difficult times of the Communist regime, it wasn’t possible for him to study film. He turned to theatre instead, as a substitute, and only after his presidency ended was he finally able to do it. 

There is something bittersweet about it, because Leaving wasn’t that well received. But maybe it was all about realising that dream, no matter what people said?
He wanted to be on set, with the actors. He waited for so long. I saw how happy it made him. Then he got tired, of course, because it is an intense process and it wasn’t easy to see that the film wasn’t accepted the way he would have wanted. Maybe it even took away some of his strength. But as he says in the film after the premiere, he made it the way he felt was right. And any evaluation, he would leave to the critics.

Speaking of his strength — you show him being vulnerable, lying in bed in a hospital. Did you talk about including these scenes?
This situation in New York was a bit complicated, because when it happened, nobody could find his insurance. We ended up in a public hospital, waiting. Only later, when we finally moved to a private room, did I take out my camera. Before, it didn’t even cross my mind to do so. 

It was funny, because the second I started to film, Madeleine Albright rushed in. She started to shout: “Who let the media in?” He just woke up and told her: “Madlenko, it’s Mr. Jančárek. It’s ok.” [laughter] That’s what our relationship looked like — I was able to be with him during such moments, too, and I am very proud of it. I would say that the only times when I couldn’t film was when I had to help him out — his comical struggles with a vacuum cleaner are a good example of that — or when other people demanded it. I think I just knew where the boundaries were and never crossed them. 

I also talk about ageing here. It concerns us all, it’s a part of our life regardless of our former position. It was something he never tried to hide. Mentally, he was absolutely sharp until the end and, personally, I just admired the dignity with which he was leaving. I consider it an integral part of our film.

You will keep on talking about Havel now, after the premiere. What kind of a legacy is there now? What do people remember?
I wanted to show a different side of him. Show that he could be weak as well, welcome people into this intimate space. It’s time to bring him back onto the scene. It has been a while since he died, people have different problems, so maybe he has been forgotten? I want to remind them about him. We are not breaking any news here, but we wanted to bring back that “Havel emotion.” Which wasn’t always easy — the film you saw is the 68th version. 

68th?! What were the changes?
Sometimes, they were very small. For example, at one point I got rid of the voiceover. I wanted to let him talk. I also decided not to explain too much. We don’t say who is who, and when I showed the scene with Miloš Forman to my students, they said: “It’s funny, but who is that guy?” They know Forman’s films, but they don’t recognise him. It was the same with Albright and we just decided to let it be. I wanted this film to be more about feelings. These days, people can google everything anyway.