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ROLANDS KALNIN’S FORBIDDEN FILMS

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Akmens un šķembas (Stone and Flinders, 1966)

20 years after WWII former friends Ričards, Jānis and Antra, whose fates were irreversibly and tragically affected by the war, the need to choose sides, and by betrayal, meet again. With the present day interweaving with memories, their paths, experiences and convictions are revealed.

Četri balti krekli (Four White Shirts, 1967)
The film phenomenon that, although banned and “shelved” for 20 years, lived on in legend and through the songs that Imants Kalniņš had composed for the film. Middle-aged cultural worker Anita Sondore feels that the song lyrics of the young poet Cēzars Kalniņš, as sung by a youth ensemble, are inappropriate. She writes a letter of complaint to the newspaper, thus setting in motion the system of censorship.

Piejūras klimats (Maritime Climate, 1974)
The R. Kalniņš’ film most damaged by censorship – work on this project was stopped and most of the material was destroyed
Ēriks, Harijs and Guntis work for a gas company. On the beach Ēriks passes himself off to be the main engineer to pretty girl Daina. It later turns out that the girl is the gas company’s newest engineer. Ēriks and Daina meet up in an amateur theatre production to play the roles of Cleopatra and Anthony.

BANNED FILMS. THE HISTORY:

Akmens un šķembas (Stone and Flinders, 1966)
The only film made under occupation in Soviet Latvia that dared to speak of the Latvian legionnaires – the soldiers who, in believing they were fighting for Latvia’s freedom, fought on the German side. For this reason the film’s creators felt opposition from the Soviet authorities from the beginning. In the spring of 1966, when Stone and Flinders was almost finished, the creative team wasn’t allowed to continue working. The Latvian Communist Party Central Committee’s First Secretary Augusts Voss forbade showing the film in Latvia, except for a few screening on the outskirts of Riga. The film was, however, shown in Russian theatres because I Remember Everything, Richard! (the other title of the film) was accepted by Moscow’s State Cinematography Committee. After many years of silence, the film entitled I Remember Everything, Richard!, was again shown in Latvia in 1986.

Četri balti krekli (Four White Shirts, 1967)
After the film – a sensitive and emotional portrayal of the spirit of 1960s youth – was finished, it was approved by the Riga Film Studio. However, complications arose when it was handed into the Soviet State Cinematography Committee. R. Kalniņš’ dissection of the arts censorship system turned out to be too on point, and therefore – unforgivable. The film was banned from being shown and “shelved”. The first time it was screened to the public was in 1986, when the songs Imants Kalniņš had composed for the film had already achieved cult status.

Piejūras klimats (Maritime Climate, 1974)
Work on this film, started in the summer of 1974, was never finished. After the first material was shown in Moscow to the State Cinematography Committee, they were ordered to change the style. The director’s style of brightness, relativity and undeniable irony was, according to the Soviet functionaries, unsuitable for a story about a gas company brigade. During the second half of 1974 work continued on possible changes and the main actor was replaced due to a broken nose, but during the last days came the order to stop work on Maritime Climate, and to write off the production to losses.
There are some 20 minutes of both outtakes and edited film remaining, and in 1992 this material was incorporated into a short film proving that Maritime Climate could have been one of the most original Latvian films ever.

Gallery (Four White Shirts, 1967):