The Ear

In Karel Kachyňa's remarkable The Ear, a Communist Party functionary and wife find their house under surveillance and riddled with listening devices put there by his own ministry, and a harrowing night of dread and paranoia ensues. One of the most courageous and innovative films of its time, fearlessly referring to many taboo subjects of the Stalinist era, The Ear was banned by the Czech authorities, and remained unseen for twenty years. This landmark film is an extraordinary mix of one of the most direct indictments of life under an oppressive totalitarian system and a not-so-private examination of a disintegrating marital relationship. (Arrow Films)