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Simply Cinema,
Czech Television and Lafarge

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Present

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A Documentary Film
by Olga Špátová

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JAN KAPLICKY
EYE OVER PRAGUE

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In a 1998 diary entry Johan asked,

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“What else can I accomplish
in the next ten years?”

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1. Win a medal.
2. Win a competition.

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3. Really work in the evening.

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4. Have one love.

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NEWS

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A new building
for the National Library

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is slated for construction
at Letna Plain in Prague.

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In an international competition
the jury chose a project designed

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by Czech native Jan Kaplicky
of Britain’s Future Systems.

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This is the original design I did
before I had a location in mind.

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Even before the competition.

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Here we see the top part.

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More changes.
The entrances were widened.

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There might be something else here.

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The stamp we then designed.

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One day it will be issued.

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This sort of thing only happens
once or twice in a lifetime.

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This is the first Czech
international competition.

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It is also the first Czech
competition as a free country.

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For me this represents
completion of a circle.

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I left the country long ago.
Now I am slowly making my way
back.

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Where is milady?

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She’s hiding.

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You are returning to Prague…

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-Hi!
-Hi!

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You haven’t seen an obeisance!

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-This is something!
-Hi!

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This is by the way
height of the National Theatre.

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Here is the surprise.

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This may be the most relevant
moment of my life.

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Now the only things at stake are
that it be a European building,

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a building in a free country,

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and that it be
a beautiful building.

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That’s all.

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Construction at Letna Plain
is scheduled to begin in 2008.

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The National Library should be
finished two years later in 2010.

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The building will cost
nearly two billion crowns.

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I liked the design very much.

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I was excited about another
original building in Prague.

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I’ve noticed original buildings are
being built from Moscow to Bangkok.

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But in Prague new buildings are just

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banal square meters of office space.

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I saw this as a victory

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of good taste over bad.

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I was thrilled this design won.

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When I heard the news
I was absolutely over the moon.

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I knew something
like this was coming.

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What a fitting climax
to Jan’s life story

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that he design something
in the homeland has so loved.

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I thought he would be thrilled.
I could tell he was.

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We started gymnasium together.
On Parler Street.

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I was the shortest in the class
and Jan Kaplicky was the tallest.

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We had similar interests
such as flying,

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American music, comics,

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and girls.

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We started school in 1952.

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-Or 1951. -Right.
-That was… -In ’52.

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…a horrific time. Right after
graduation we took the entrance exam

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for the Faculty of Architecture
and Civil Engineering.

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-In Dejvice in Prague.
-In Dejvice in Prague. Now get this.

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I passed the exam.

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Jan Kaplicky failed.

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They came up with a picayune
reason like language skills.

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Of course we knew why.

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We know what happened
to Jan’s father.

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They found me acceptable,
so I passed the exam.

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Jan, on the other hand,
had to spend two years in the army.

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Only then was he accepted
by the Academy of Arts and Design.

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Academic Painter Adriana Simotova

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and Academic Architect Jan Kaplicky

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are awarded the highest
academic honor granted by

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the Academy of Arts, Architecture,
and Design in Prague.

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My father taught here.

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He studied here. So did my mother.
This is where they met.

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I can imagine their first date

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in the dark hallways
in the building on the riverbank.

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I can imagine it.

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They had experienced two world wars.
They only had twenty nice years.

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The rest of the time was wartime.

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But they stuck together.

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Their inner strength was greater
than their horrible surroundings.

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My earliest memories
are of the German occupation.

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I only remember…

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I was scared
to walk past German guards.

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At the end of the war

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I spoke to a British prisoner who
had been set free two hours earlier.

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Incredible experiences for a child.

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I recall how bleak
the February putsch was.

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The cold. The snow.
As an eleven year-old child

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you understand there is
something awful happening.

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You can tell by your parents’ faces.

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That really influences a child.

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Unfortunately I wish younger people

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could experience something big.

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I’m afraid my offspring will never

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experience anything tumultuous.

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Such experiences teach you how
to distinguish the truth from lies.

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I have a special compartment.

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Jan puts items that
capture his attention here.

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The pictures that serve
as inspiration for the library

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are divided into subgroups.
This is for structure.

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These triangles provided
ideas for the facade.

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More inspiration for the facade.

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Ovals are inspiring in general.

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Recently someone gave me
a monograph about Corbusier.

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You can see how something
different develops each time.

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Even at my tender age
I’d like to prove

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you can come up with something
different, or at least new colors.

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In the same way, I hope
the spoon I made two years ago

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looks a bit different
than one I’d make tomorrow.

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We kind of expected it,
so we weren’t completely…

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I was taken by surprise that night.
You woke me up.

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We got right out of bed.

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We grieved as we walked around
Prague as it was just waking up.

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There was one act of heroism.

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The two of us, by ourselves,
found a bucket of paint.

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We painted “Go home” in huge letters
in Russian on the National Museum.

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We argued about the accent mark.

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Neither of us could remember.

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That was when Jan first told me

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he couldn’t live under that regime.

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Jan asked, “Can you bear the thought

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that the Socialist Youth Movement
and storm troopers will be back

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and that there’ll be
red stars everywhere again?”

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I told him, “You’re right.
That’s a horrible thought.

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No way. That can’t happen again.”

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When I saw the Russian tanks
I knew for certain I had to get out.

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Otherwise my life would be over.
I’d be a completely different person

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if I hadn’t left the country.

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There is no doubt about that.

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This will come as a surprise, but
I was born 200 meters from here.

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It was wonderful standing here
at the tram stop every day.

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What a view!

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I even came here to play
with the Mullers’ daughter.

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I never imagined
I’d be giving a lecture here.

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Here are some projects
Future Systems has done.

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This is a view
of a house we did in London.

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Next.

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A conservation area.

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Next.

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A house I did for my son Josef.

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Next.

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A small weekend unit.

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You can move up or down according
to your mood. Or jump out and swim.

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Next.

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We can go out for coffee.

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Or for something even better.
Thank you very much.

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On January 1, 2007, he wrote,

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“This must be a fantastic year.”

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1. “E”
2. Library. 3. Apartment.

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At the end he writes, “The library
must be as beautiful as you.”

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The National Library wants
the new building to house

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its modern collection,
meaning books printed after 1801.

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Does the winning design
meet your expectations?

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Good evening, everyone.
Yes, it does.

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The winning design is a perfectly
organized modern National Library

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for the twenty-first century.

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If we wanted a conservative design,

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there would have been no need for
a major international competition.

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We wanted a highly representative
and interesting jury.

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Zahu Hadid, one of the world’s
most famous architects.

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Irene Wiese-von Ofen

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is a highly respected expert
on the urbanism of historic places.

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Eva Jiricna is also well-respected.

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There were halls filled
with design after design.

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We all knew from the start

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that choosing a winner
would be tough.

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The first time around
I stopped to look at the project.

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I thought, “They must be kidding,”
and I walked away.

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During the second round

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I realized

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it was one of three or four
projects I could still remember.

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I thought the public
would have a hard time

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accepting the design.

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I was completely surprised
when the winner was announced.

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Everyone in the hall,

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supporters and opponents alike,

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applauded with sincerity

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and admiration.

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We are grateful for the support
shown us by the City of Prague,

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particularly that of Mayor Bem,
as his support is political.

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Mayor Bem recently said
with regard to the winning project,

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“We have the utmost respect for
the new National Library building.

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It is courageous, surprising,
original, energy-conserving,

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and certainly also controversial.

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The National Library is certain
to become another of Prague’s

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architectural gems, a complement
to a mosaic of building styles

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ranging from Romance to modern.”

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I said to myself, “Silly, old girl.
How could you underestimate it?

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The project has received a far
better reception than we expected.”

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It was on that note

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that I left.

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I returned to London thrilled

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that Prague had adopted the project,

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that the project had support,
and that it would be carried out.

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An article entitled, “Unfair
Discussion on National Library,”

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by President Vaclav Klaus appeared
in today’s Mlada Fronta Dnes.

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“I find Mr Kaplicky’s artifact
incredibly boastful, capricious,

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even arrogant. That I know nothing
about the author is unimportant

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because I am evaluating the project
and not his life or opinions.”

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He first expressed his displeasure
on Friday at the Prague 9 City Hall

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when he asked if they had a space
befitting the so-called “octopus.”

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He then joked that he was willing

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to physically block construction
of the National Library in Letna,

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claiming he would use his own body,
a tactic used by nuclear protesters.

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After Klaus made this statement
suddenly nothing was possible.

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What before had been considered
logical, coherent, and sensible

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was now suddenly wrong.

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Construction of the National Library
at Letna is likely to be called off.

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ODS party representatives
oppose its construction.

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ODS holds a majority at City Hall,
hence it has the decisive say.

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It doesn’t suit the location.

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It would be a second landmark a few
hundred meters from Prague Castle.

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It is worthwhile that a select group
experience a few moments of
disgrace

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to prevent a blob of spit
from dominating the Prague skyline.

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Good morning, ladies and gentleman
of the Prague City Council,

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ladies and gentlemen,
honored guests.

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The most similar creature
that lives in the Australian ocean

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that resembles the octopus…

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“Bem Causes Prague Harm”
“Bem - Yes But Elsewhere”

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The most dangerous kind,
the spotted octopus…

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“Bem Harms Prague”

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What happened?

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The octopus with a venerable
height of forty-eight meters

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is located 500 meters
from Prague Castle

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in the first zone of Prague’s
historic preservation district,

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in direct contact with Prague’s
historic preservation district.

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It is no laughing matter
when I say that since 1918

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we have not faced

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as serious a confrontation as this.

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That is the appropriate word
without any inner content.

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I know not everyone liked
St. Nicholas Church

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or Clementinum.
Too big, too tall, or yellow.

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Buildings are always built.
On the contrary.

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Corbusier said if everyone
liked a building from the start,

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then there was something wrong.

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You can’t guess general taste.
Doing so would be bad.

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Under Socialism we were ordered to
like everything immediately. Now!

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And the orders come from
the Central Committee.

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That doesn’t work under Democracy!

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Culture evolves independent
of government officials.

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They can support it. Or destroy it.

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00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:26,080
They’re just like them!
They’re just like them!

249
00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:33,360
We are presenting a petition
in support of Kaplicky’s library

250
00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:38,320
to the Prague City Council.

251
00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:44,400
More than four thousand
citizens have signed it so far.

252
00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:49,240
When I look at the views…
They are simply… unique.

253
00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:52,840
When I look at the view that was…
the view from Petrin…

254
00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:57,760
-You are not fit to judge.
-Look at the view from Petrin.

255
00:26:58,080 --> 00:27:00,680
The panorama is obstructed.

256
00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:05,240
>From the perspective of people who
come here… I don’t like it there.

257
00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:09,760
Only architects and city planners
are qualified to judge.

258
00:27:10,280 --> 00:27:13,840
But citizens come to me
claiming they don’t like it.

259
00:27:14,160 --> 00:27:16,760
-Hello.
-Why are you at this demonstration?

260
00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:20,080
It doesn’t seem fair.
People know nothing about this.

261
00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:24,160
They are protesting against
something they know nothing about.

262
00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:27,760
“Competition Violated Rules”
"Jezek and Kaplicky Politicized It”

263
00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:31,760
I know the case well.There shouldn’t
be large buildings at Letna.

264
00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:35,800
It is the last large, open space
that must be preserved.

265
00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:40,760
Go to hell, Knizak!

266
00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:45,040
You go!

267
00:27:45,360 --> 00:27:47,160
You’re closer.

268
00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:06,640
I know this type of architecture.
It isn’t anything new.

269
00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:09,280
I like its amorphousness.

270
00:28:09,360 --> 00:28:14,080
I have a location in mind
where it would look good.

271
00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:19,080
But a building this big
is a major infringment.

272
00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:21,920
Compare it to Sparta Stadium.

273
00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:25,960
It doesn’t belong there, either.
It should be closed down.

274
00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:29,320
You can see how huge it is.
You can’t tell like that.

275
00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:34,320
Put it in there. Sorry I can’t
reach. I’ll give it a try, but…

276
00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:41,480
See how big it is?
It covers the playing field.

277
00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:44,280
It sticks out.
My arm is too short.

278
00:28:44,360 --> 00:28:47,160
-I’ll try if you like.
-You try it.

279
00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:51,760
It is not small
when you see how big Sparta is.

280
00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:54,400
It is a really big building.

281
00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:06,200
Prague has a rich
architectural history.

282
00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:08,800
It should be respected.

283
00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:14,440
Now some guy comes along
who wants to outdo the panorama.

284
00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:18,360
His “Eye of Big Brother”
will be watching you.

285
00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:36,480
We called this discussion because
the discussion in the media seemed

286
00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:40,920
too hectic, unreasonable,
and full of emotion.

287
00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:45,760
We would like this discussion to be
different. I will make sure it is.

288
00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:49,360
A few weeks ago Mr President

289
00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:53,600
entered this debate with fervor.

290
00:29:54,040 --> 00:29:56,720
In a certain way, he sparked it.

291
00:29:57,040 --> 00:30:01,280
Before that there was
no public debate.

292
00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:05,680
Jan Kaplicky’s winning design
unleashed public discussion.

293
00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:11,840
60 to 90 pages on this topic
appeared in newspapers every day.

294
00:30:12,240 --> 00:30:15,240
Before the President got involved.

295
00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:20,120
The theory that the President’s
involvement unleashed debate is…

296
00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:22,240
That is irrelevant.

297
00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:26,400
Mr Knizak, if it is relevant
that Mr Jakl talk about this,

298
00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:29,360
pardon me, but it is
relevant that I answer.

299
00:30:29,440 --> 00:30:32,360
I hope you lead
the discussion fairly.

300
00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:42,240
The library can become
a contemporary landmark.

301
00:30:42,720 --> 00:30:45,600
It will join the many other
buildings we admire,

302
00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:48,880
such as the Secession style
Municipal House,

303
00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:52,600
The House at the Black Madonna
from the Cubist Period,

304
00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:56,440
Functionalist buildings like
Bata House on Wenceslaus Square,

305
00:30:56,520 --> 00:30:58,320
and the Muller Villa.

306
00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:05,040
We finally have a unique chance
to build a large building

307
00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:09,440
that serves a beautiful function.

308
00:31:14,120 --> 00:31:18,400
Jan Kaplicky broke
the rules in the first round

309
00:31:18,880 --> 00:31:22,280
by storing books underground.

310
00:31:22,360 --> 00:31:26,680
By doing this he put all the other
architects at a disadvantage.

311
00:31:26,760 --> 00:31:32,240
If everyone had done so, the designs
would have been different.

312
00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:38,480
I feel terrible for the 350 teams,
not individual architects but teams,

313
00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:41,480
that slaved over this for months.

314
00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:45,560
They invested money in models,
printing and visualization

315
00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:49,720
only for the competition
to be manipulated like this.

316
00:31:50,040 --> 00:31:54,560
Rules are broken
and we can do that.

317
00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:58,000
Regarding the competition rules,

318
00:31:58,080 --> 00:32:03,400
the National Library did
propose stringent conditions.

319
00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:06,520
However, juries are not robots

320
00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:11,000
that check off which conditions
have and have not been met.

321
00:32:11,080 --> 00:32:14,200
The task of the jury was
to select the best design.

322
00:32:14,280 --> 00:32:18,640
In my opinion, eight votes
out of eight votes show me it did.

323
00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:24,560
I want to emphasize the jury took
an equal approach to all designs.

324
00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:29,400
Seventy percent of them failed
to meet this or that condition.

325
00:32:29,720 --> 00:32:32,600
Surprisingly, no one mentions that.

326
00:32:40,560 --> 00:32:46,920
We didn’t know where the hits
were coming from, or why.

327
00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:50,840
What to question or what to fight.

328
00:32:51,160 --> 00:32:54,720
A different part should move,
or it was too big,

329
00:32:55,040 --> 00:32:58,920
or the competition was flawed.
It never stopped.

330
00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:04,160
They kept thinking up new things.
Eventually we got lost in it.

331
00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:16,840
It’s gorgeous.

332
00:33:17,720 --> 00:33:22,400
Another aspect of this building’s
strange history is whether or not

333
00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:24,720
there is money for it.

334
00:33:25,080 --> 00:33:28,040
I hear a different opinion
on this every other day.

335
00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:31,600
At first they said many times
they had two or three billion.

336
00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:34,120
Then suddenly the money was gone.

337
00:33:34,200 --> 00:33:38,160
Now the Ministry of Culture
says they have no site or money.

338
00:33:38,360 --> 00:33:41,720
Despite the fact that a site
and money were designated.

339
00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:45,000
Envious architects complaining

340
00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:49,640
about their losses
at international courts

341
00:33:50,240 --> 00:33:53,160
are also part of our history.

342
00:33:53,480 --> 00:33:57,720
Didn’t Czech architects
bully Plecnik into leaving?

343
00:33:58,040 --> 00:34:00,160
They felt it was too much.

344
00:34:00,480 --> 00:34:03,760
Plecnik controlled the Castle
and the chateau in Lany.

345
00:34:03,840 --> 00:34:08,080
He built a church in Vinohrady.
That was unforgivable.

346
00:34:08,400 --> 00:34:10,200
A foreigner.

347
00:34:10,680 --> 00:34:13,680
This also looks… Sorry.
…amazing.

348
00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:18,640
I was saying…
I don’t know if you were listening.

349
00:34:18,960 --> 00:34:22,520
The line here
shows up slightly lower.

350
00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:26,640
It has to be dramatic. Right?
That was the idea.

351
00:34:26,960 --> 00:34:30,480
If it isn’t dramatic
then something is wrong.

352
00:34:31,160 --> 00:34:34,120
Now it’s getting more dramatic.
Good.

353
00:34:35,240 --> 00:34:38,920
It’s easier to make
a National Library than this.

354
00:34:39,240 --> 00:34:43,240
When you mess up they just scold
you. But this is a catastrophe.

355
00:34:52,280 --> 00:34:54,840
Lord, giver of life.

356
00:34:55,160 --> 00:34:58,880
Thank you for Eliska and Jan’s love.

357
00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:05,520
Thank you for having them meet
and decide to share their lives.

358
00:35:06,600 --> 00:35:09,400
We ask that you
make their love last.

359
00:35:10,160 --> 00:35:13,840
We ask that you grant them
wisdom and responsibility

360
00:35:14,160 --> 00:35:19,200
so they remain faithful
in their love until the end.

361
00:35:20,680 --> 00:35:24,400
What God has joined
let no man tear asunder.

362
00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:41,040
These are Johan’s
favorite magazines about flying.

363
00:35:41,720 --> 00:35:43,520
Bazaar, fashion.

364
00:35:44,320 --> 00:35:46,080
Architecture.

365
00:35:46,400 --> 00:35:48,600
Inspiration from nature.

366
00:35:49,360 --> 00:35:54,120
Anyone who wants to make him
happy
can give him a gift like this.

367
00:35:54,440 --> 00:35:57,440
Something like this rock I gave him.

368
00:35:57,840 --> 00:36:00,240
It looks like a stingray.

369
00:36:01,200 --> 00:36:03,520
I just got it on my vacation.

370
00:36:05,840 --> 00:36:08,040
Here are Johan’s diaries.

371
00:36:10,640 --> 00:36:14,000
On the day he won
in February 2007

372
00:36:14,320 --> 00:36:17,000
Johan drew a sugar bowl

373
00:36:18,080 --> 00:36:20,360
he had seen in Berlin.

374
00:36:20,720 --> 00:36:24,000
It inspired the library’s shape.

375
00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:27,160
And this female form.

376
00:36:56,960 --> 00:36:59,960
On his seventieth birthday

377
00:37:01,080 --> 00:37:05,320
on April 18, 2007, he wrote,

378
00:37:05,640 --> 00:37:08,720
“What to say? I’m an old man.

379
00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:13,040
I have “E,” Josef, the library,

380
00:37:13,400 --> 00:37:14,400
and life.“

381
00:37:16,840 --> 00:37:19,040
I’m excited about the future.

382
00:37:19,600 --> 00:37:22,920
I have great support
and inspiration.

383
00:37:23,440 --> 00:37:26,040
That is everything.
There’s nothing else I need.

384
00:37:26,120 --> 00:37:29,920
Maybe a model airplane,
but that’s easy to fulfill.

385
00:37:30,240 --> 00:37:33,160
The younger woman on the way

386
00:37:33,720 --> 00:37:36,720
could be even more inspiring.

387
00:37:47,600 --> 00:37:49,720
I just hope

388
00:37:50,600 --> 00:37:52,560
I’ll be able to...

389
00:37:52,920 --> 00:37:55,080
...handle everything.

390
00:37:57,160 --> 00:38:01,440
A new life is on the way.
So there’s hope.

391
00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:07,880
In a few years the generation
that’s, say, five and a half today

392
00:38:07,960 --> 00:38:12,320
will find this story absurd.

393
00:38:13,600 --> 00:38:17,960
The politicians will be long gone,
but the library will be here.

394
00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:26,800
I read Czech newspapers

395
00:38:27,280 --> 00:38:30,360
and all the news
about the National Library.

396
00:38:30,680 --> 00:38:32,960
It just makes me

397
00:38:33,240 --> 00:38:35,520
sadder and sadder.

398
00:38:36,400 --> 00:38:39,760
I don’t read the news anymore.

399
00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:46,520
We’ve been trying to ignore it.

400
00:38:46,960 --> 00:38:49,760
We are trying to look ahead.

401
00:39:20,600 --> 00:39:22,560
The Minister of Culture has removed

402
00:39:22,640 --> 00:39:25,040
Vlastimil Jezek from his post
as National Library Director. Why?

403
00:39:25,120 --> 00:39:28,040
Problems about the planned
construction of the new building.

404
00:39:28,160 --> 00:39:33,520
Instead of debates over
how the new library should look

405
00:39:33,840 --> 00:39:36,720
the search is on
for the party behind the discord.

406
00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:40,360
Legal analysis shows

407
00:39:40,600 --> 00:39:46,560
the competition was in conflict
with the law from the beginning.

408
00:39:46,720 --> 00:39:50,040
Jehlicka refuses to comment
on Jezek’s argument that

409
00:39:50,120 --> 00:39:53,520
the competition was held
with the approval of the Ministry.

410
00:39:53,600 --> 00:39:56,840
I will not assume unfounded blame

411
00:39:57,040 --> 00:40:00,080
just because a group of people

412
00:40:00,480 --> 00:40:05,040
decided the competition
cannot have a winner.

413
00:40:07,120 --> 00:40:10,480
The octopus,
the original library, is dying.

414
00:40:10,560 --> 00:40:13,720
The Minister of Culture
has given it a death sentence.

415
00:40:14,040 --> 00:40:17,640
The public now knows

416
00:40:18,240 --> 00:40:22,040
no octopus
will be built at Letna Plain.

417
00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:56,040
The acclaimed American architect
Frank Lloyd Wright once said,

418
00:40:56,360 --> 00:40:59,520
“Democracy builds.”

419
00:41:00,680 --> 00:41:04,680
This is a fundamental statement.
“Democracy builds.”

420
00:41:10,440 --> 00:41:13,320
Careful. There’s a step here.

421
00:41:15,640 --> 00:41:19,000
The design will not be lost.
The library will be built.

422
00:41:19,080 --> 00:41:22,360
Perhaps on Letna Plain
in ten to fifteen years.

423
00:41:22,440 --> 00:41:25,680
Perhaps it will be
in another city.

424
00:41:26,440 --> 00:41:30,560
If you counted solely
on immediate success

425
00:41:30,680 --> 00:41:33,040
you wouldn’t do anything.

426
00:41:33,200 --> 00:41:38,240
Our whole dissident movement
was in fact hopeless.

427
00:41:38,920 --> 00:41:42,440
In the end things improved,
although there was no guarantee.

428
00:41:42,520 --> 00:41:44,640
One has to remain on course.

429
00:41:46,480 --> 00:41:51,960
You can’t worry about the payback
coming tomorrow or the next day.

430
00:41:52,280 --> 00:41:55,280
Knowing you are right is important.

431
00:41:56,240 --> 00:42:00,160
That what you stand behind
is something good.

432
00:42:07,960 --> 00:42:10,960
I grew up during wartime.

433
00:42:11,280 --> 00:42:15,360
She won’t grow up during wartime.
That is wonderful.

434
00:42:19,200 --> 00:42:22,800
Europe will remain
relatively peaceful.

435
00:42:22,880 --> 00:42:25,080
Back then it was horrible.

436
00:42:27,160 --> 00:42:29,840
That is the basis for your life.

437
00:42:30,080 --> 00:42:34,080
She won’t have to study
a language she doesn’t want to.

438
00:42:34,160 --> 00:42:38,320
She can travel where she wants.
She can live where she wants.

439
00:42:38,640 --> 00:42:43,480
She won’t have to extend her arm
when she wants to greet people.

440
00:42:43,920 --> 00:42:46,120
What then?

441
00:42:46,720 --> 00:42:49,400
I hope she finds a boyfriend.

442
00:42:49,840 --> 00:42:54,440
That’s important, too.
Somewhere down the line.

443
00:43:27,680 --> 00:43:31,240
Architect Jan Kaplicky died
suddenly at the age of 71.

444
00:43:31,560 --> 00:43:35,240
His designs include the much debated
National Library building.

445
00:43:35,320 --> 00:43:38,280
He died yesterday in Prague
of apparent heart failure

446
00:43:38,360 --> 00:43:43,680
on the very day his wife Eliska
gave birth to daughter Johanka.

447
00:45:07,920 --> 00:45:10,160
“Let the Octopus Enrich Our Fauna”

448
00:45:10,480 --> 00:45:12,120
“Does Democracy Build?

449
00:45:12,720 --> 00:45:17,280
Citizens of the Czech Republic,
we stand facing the library.

450
00:45:24,440 --> 00:45:28,480
It is truly a great work
of the twenty-first century.

451
00:45:33,280 --> 00:45:36,280
“Octopus to the Castle
Let Klaus Drive a Backhoe”

452
00:45:36,360 --> 00:45:41,200
I believe one day we will build
Kaplicky’s library in our city.

453
00:46:36,400 --> 00:46:39,040
Vaclav Klaus “The Face of Tomorrow”

454
00:46:41,880 --> 00:46:46,240
We brought books here because
the library is a house for books.

455
00:46:46,320 --> 00:46:48,680
We decided to put them in a pile

456
00:46:49,000 --> 00:46:52,040
that is shaped like the library.

457
00:46:52,400 --> 00:46:56,600
We’ll see if anyone
builds our library around the books.

458
00:46:56,920 --> 00:46:59,000
I liked it from the start.

459
00:46:59,320 --> 00:47:01,760
It is nice because it is modern.

460
00:47:02,080 --> 00:47:03,800
I can’t help it.

461
00:47:04,120 --> 00:47:06,240
I want it for my grandchildren.

462
00:47:06,440 --> 00:47:11,680
I have four grandchildren and four
great-grandchildren. At least for them.

463
00:47:16,880 --> 00:47:21,360
What can you do?
It’s a shame he passed away.

464
00:47:22,240 --> 00:47:24,040
We’ve lost him.

465
00:47:33,680 --> 00:47:37,800
We are here because
today is an important day for us.

466
00:47:37,880 --> 00:47:39,880
As you know, finally,

467
00:47:40,200 --> 00:47:45,760
six years after laying
the museum’s cornerstone,

468
00:47:45,880 --> 00:47:48,000
construction can get underway.

469
00:47:49,960 --> 00:47:55,160
Today we should
remember Jan Kaplicky,

470
00:47:55,760 --> 00:47:59,640
the architect who gave this museum
its form and who so hoped

471
00:47:59,720 --> 00:48:03,480
that this day would come.
He is surely here among us.

472
00:48:03,920 --> 00:48:08,240
We hope that in two years
the museum will still be a reality,

473
00:48:08,560 --> 00:48:11,200
that all will go smoothly,

474
00:48:11,520 --> 00:48:16,040
and that it will serve as a true
expression of and witness to memory,

475
00:48:16,120 --> 00:48:18,960
connecting the past and the future.

476
00:48:58,000 --> 00:49:01,080
A letter to Johanka
on her twelfth birthday.

477
00:49:01,760 --> 00:49:04,120
Dear Johanka,
As you know,

478
00:49:04,200 --> 00:49:09,120
your father left this world
on the very day you came into it.

479
00:49:09,760 --> 00:49:14,720
I know he left with happy
thoughts of you and your mom.

480
00:49:15,560 --> 00:49:20,520
The National Library that you see
on your walks through Prague

481
00:49:20,720 --> 00:49:23,760
on the site of a monument
to a former dictator

482
00:49:23,840 --> 00:49:26,840
is the personification
of the creative spirit,

483
00:49:26,920 --> 00:49:30,920
an expression of the education,
culture and humanity traditionally

484
00:49:31,000 --> 00:49:34,200
connected with Prague
and its relief,

485
00:49:34,640 --> 00:49:38,040
an expression of man’s
humble respect for nature.

486
00:49:38,760 --> 00:49:41,400
I wish you all the best
in the coming years.

487
00:49:41,480 --> 00:49:47,240
May you never face more
small-mindedness than necessary.

488
00:49:47,920 --> 00:49:49,720
Yours, Vaclav Havel

489
00:50:04,480 --> 00:50:09,560
FOR JOHAN

490
00:50:38,680 --> 00:50:43,680
Subtitled by Lisette Saint Germain
for FILMPRINT s.r.o.