Slovak Learning Community and Resources

Winter Classics Watchlist

Long winter evenings are ideal for cozy movie nights. In this blogpost, we will take a journey through Czechoslovak/Slovak movie classics that are an integral part of winter and holiday season in Slovakia. Why are we also listing movies that are in Czech? As you may know, before becoming individual countries, Czech Republic and Slovakia were part of one country —Czechoslovakia, from 1918 to 1992. Czech and Slovak languages are very similar and Slovak and Czech speakers can normally understand each other while speaking their own respective languages. Generally, Slovaks don’t view Czech as a foreign language and vice versa (however, younger generations tend to understand less due to lower exposure to Slovak/Czech).

This is our recommended watchlist:

Perinbaba (The Feather Fairy), 1985 

Genre: Fairy tale

Language: Slovak

Perinbaba is a movie based on the short story “Frau Holle” by the Brothers Grimm. The film was directed by the famous Slovak director Juraj Jakubisko, known for his magical perception of the world that he transferred into his movies. The Feather Fairy lives in the sky and creates snow with her magical blanket. She lives there with a boy called Jakub, whom she saved from the Grim Reaper (The Death) when he was small. One day, Jakub ventures into the human world and falls for a peasant girl Alžbetka. But in order to be together they have to overcome many dangers and intrigues from those around them. The film depicts man's eternal longing for happiness, understanding and love. At the same time, it denounces greed and the desire to get rich quickly. 

Reasons to watch: magical storyline and beautiful sceneries of Slovak nature

S tebou mě baví svět (I Enjoy the World with You), 1982

Genre: Comedy

Language: Czech

A legendary Czechoslovak comedy about a winter family holiday in a picturesque Beskydy cottage. Three men are looking forward to their annual guys’ trip. This time, however, their wives convince them to bring their children along. And so the gentlemen are left with six children, the oldest is eight-year-old and the youngest has recently learned to walk. The men are convinced that their parenting methods are much better than those of their female partners. The cottage in a magnificent mountain environment without electricity, latrines, and the need to cut wood, provides numerous opportunities for comedic situations, particularly thanks to the children. To keep them occupied, the fathers devise competitions and tasks in which they participate as well. One day, the wives pay an unexpected visit and are not happy with what they find.

Reasons to watch: Often referred to as “a comedy of the century”, full of evergreen hits

Tri oriešky pre Popolušku (Three Nuts for Cinderella), 1973

Genre: Fairytale

Language: Czech

The unconventionally conceived classic story has been one of the most popular fairy tales for many years. Cinderella is an orphan, who is banished by her stepmother after the death of her father among the servants. The cruel stepmother wants her own daughter to marry the prince. Cinderella, however, does not intend to passively endure her fate, and the kind and good girl is helped by three miraculous peanuts, in which she always finds what she needs: hunting clothes, a ball gown and a wedding dress. Interesting fact: the movie is very popular in Norway, they even made their own version in 2021.

Reasons to watch: it is a modern feminist conception of the classic fairy tale (in those times)

Which one of these movies would be your top pick? And what's your go-to winter movie? You can share your choices and recommendations in the forum and contribute to the community winter watchlist.

Enjoy watching!