Ze života pražského bohéma
From the life of a Prague bohemian

Summary/Abstract: Wanatowiczová, Krystyna: Miloš Havel: Český filmový magnát. Prague: Knihovna Václava Havla, 2013 and 2017, 552 pp., ISBN 978-80-87490-75-4. Miloš Havel (1899–1968) was the most prominent fi lm industry entrepreneur of the inter-war Czechoslovakia, and the uncle of dissident-turned-President Václav Havel (1936–2011). The reviewed publication Miloš Havel: The Czech movie tycoon is his first biography, and the authoress intent was to depict his career and private life,particularly with a view to his status as a gay in the society at that time, relations and alleged collaboration with German authorities in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, of which he was accused after the war, and Havel’s life as an émigré in Munich after 1952. The publication aims at a broad audience, and this cannot be judged using criteria of film history; still, the reviewer regrets that the capture of the fate of the chief protagonist and other characters lacks a broader historical context. In his opinion, the amount of information the authoress collected in Czech and German archives, from other period sources, or from interviews with contemporaries is more admirable than the manner in which she treats it. It is true that she generally sticks to verified facts, but she prefers attractive episodes and colourful details to asking more poignant questions or undertaking a deeperanalysis. The reviewer also views the resulting portrayal of Miloš Havel as overly emphatic and not critical enough.

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