About the Book & Film

The Land of the Vine Leaf – this poetically tuned frame is not only an idiomatic glorification of land and dwellers under the magic mountain Pálava, but also a parable about co-existence of men and land everywhere on the world. It was shot in the course of one year: during blooming spring, lucid summer, melacholic autumn and freezy winter. Especially changing of the seasons, which brings charming colours, creates its main line of narrative. It is possible to devide it into three imaginary sentences. Right at the introductory sentence the stress is laid on the most essential thing on the Earth – the creation of life. The last one is, conversely, the reminder of the routine of time, nature and customs of mankind. The scenic and carefully ploughed vineyards play the considerable role in both of them. And last but not least – delicate maiden beauty, glamorous recesses of the river Dyje, wine cellars and their individual owners. The middle section is in its spirit the most documentary thanks to the recording of suggestive atmosphere of the regional festivities and feasts in Podluží. This document about remarkable wandering through one of the most glamorous parts of the Czech Republic is emphasized by beautiful music by the French composer and performer Damien Riba. The commentary is executed by Todd Hammond. (Length: 40 min.).

This is a nicely made and, as you say, a poetic film.

R. E. Thompson, BBC, London

About the Autor

Jan Kostrhun

(3th July 1942, Podivín, Czech Republic)

Czech writer. Work: Černé ovce (1974), Houpací kůň (1974), Pytláci (1977), Vinobraní (1978), Co by to bylo, kdyby to byla láska (1982), Svatba století (1984), Beseda se čtenáři (1987), Podivínské novely (1987), Svatba ve vypůjčených šatech (1989), Druhý pramen duhy (1989), Beseda se spisovatelem (1990), Strakatá kajda (1991), Balada o panence (1993), Krajina révového listu (1996), Pohádky o smíření (1997), Nevěsty z Moravy (2004).

Jan Kostrhun

The Land of the Vine Leaf

Jan Kostrhun

The Land of the Vine Leaf

Deluxe Edition of title in the Apps Carpe Diem Online.

No part of this may be reproduced in any form or by any elektronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

First Publisher by Carpe diem

© Jan Kostrhun, 2015

Photography © Michal Huvar, 2015

© Carpe diem, 2015

www.carpe.cz

Made in Moravia, Czech Republic

SBN 978-80-7487-126-9 (epub)

The Land of the Vine Leaf

PROLOGUE

On the third day of creation god said:

Let the waters under the heaven

be gathered together unto one place,

and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

And God called the dry land Earth;

and the gathering together of the waters called He Seas.

The Land of the Vine Leaf.

And God saw that it was good.

The Earth brought forth greenery.

Flowers, of all possible colours

and shapes and most diverse scents,

bloomed on the succulently fresh green land.

Grasses, bushes and trees were all in flower,

and the whole new born world

gave out a divinely sweet smell.

Amidst of this miraculous wonder of Creation,

the Almighty caressed with delight

the one place on the beautiful blossoming Earth

that He enjoyed most,

because it resembled

Him and His conception of Creation

in the most faithful way.

The Land of the Vine Leaf

as ages went by, the imprint of His almighty hand

on the lush land became eroded by icebergs

and smoothed down by severe winter frosts

and scorching mid-day heats of summer days.

Then the land was covered with fine soil,

carried by gentle winds and shaped like a vine leaf.

Up to the present day, this womanly,

graceful corner of the Universe,

so humbly lying between the rivers Dyje and Morava,

still resembles a vine leaf.

The vine leaf resembles

the shape of a good man’s honest palm,

whose lifeline, filled with hard work,

planning for the future, has no end.

The land of the vine leaf will remain here for ever and ever.

Where Dyje strolls lazily through oak woods,

where meadows are the colour of the sea in dreams;

where apricot trees bloom instead of rosehips;

where the sun brands ornaments into surfaces of ponds

and the people’s faces:

there lies Jenín.

Not far from Pálava;

not far from pagan graves;

above mysterious passages of hapless Habans;

amidst kind slopes, where, from time immemorial,

vine grapes were harvested instead of stones.

It’s getting dark there, as if fingers

are stroking the strings of a dulcimer,

and the sun never rises before the sound of a violin is heard.

And no one feels sad there, except at funerals.

And the cellars are not used only for potatoes.

Yes – that indeed is the place where Jenín was built,

so that men had somewhere to be born,

somewhere to live,

and somewhere to work.

When the dawn spreads its arch over the land of the vine leaf,

the earth is smooth and white, wanting to be caressed.

Half awake and half asleep, i

t is smooth and white like a wedding gown;

white like a little song;

white like a starched petticoat.

When the mid-day sun shines on the land of the vine leaf,

the earth glimmers with lavishly green

and seductively colourful ornaments over doorways.

The vineyards are green at the hips,

the green colour pampering all the colours of the rainbow.

When the twilight drives in on a wagon of sunset glow,

it seems as if the generous land of South Moravia

was made of gold.

It burns and flashes scarlet and sparkling rust,

then bursts with sweet wine juice.

Nowhere in the whole world could a girl

or a woman of such noble and proud manners be found.

Oh, my beloved, how beautiful you are!

End of preview

Table of Contents

Cover

About the Book & Film

About the Autor

Title page

Copyright

The Land of the Vine Leaf

PROLOGUE

On the third day of creation god said:

Where Dyje strolls lazily through oak woods,

When the dawn spreads its arch over the land of the vine leaf,

Very few people

The land of the vine leaf was not designed for the winter.

EPILOGUE