Selský rozum
28. 10. 2017
/
Sam Graeme Beaton
čas čtení
3 minuty
Until I saw Peasant Common Sense (Selský
rozum), co-directed by Zuzanna Piussi and Vít
Janeček, I had no idea that Kostelecké uzeniny products contained
such poor-quality meat from abroad. Or indeed, far less meat than the
average ham and sausages you can buy at a local butcher. I would
therefore like to thank the directors, and journalist Jakub Patočka,
for making me think twice the next time I visit the supermarket.
In the beginning,
Selský rozem was intended to be a study of
Czech agriculture. Yet like many things over the past few weeks, the
question of Andrej Babiš has taken centre stage. I imagine all
Britské listy readers are now well-versed on
the man who is most likely to be the next Prime Minister, his
upcoming legal cases and the connections between his party and his
business ventures. Personally, I like to believe that I am up-to-date
with what’s going on in Czech politics; but the level of corruption
and aggressive/unethical/illegal (take your pick) business practices
which this documentary argues exist took me by surprise. The
participation of Patočka and Piussi in interviewing low-paid foreign
workers at Vodňanské kuře, Babiš’s chicken company; or
uncovering the import of mechanically separated meat which appears in
Kostelecké uzeniny salami, is where Selský rozum is at its
most persuasive. Although it is interesting to hear the testimony of
farmers who have been hoodwinked by Agrofert into selling land and
buildings to the conglomerate (and how hostile takeovers are
achieved), it is difficult to empathise with a subject who reveals
that he still has a multi-million-crown biogas company to fall back
on. On the other hand, hearing from workers who spend thirteen-hour
shifts in factories for eighty crowns an hour appeal far more to the
viewer’s sense of injustice, and question why these practices are
able to happen. The answer, we are told, lies with friends in high
places who look the other way, cook the books – and crucially,
stand for election.
Piussi and
Janeček’s main argument is to expose the dangers of ANO in key
positions of government, which allows Babiš and Agrofert to continue
to make obscene amounts of money. Generally, this point is put across
well, even if I question the aesthetics of the documentary at times:
opening shots which introduce the subject as if some sort of fairy
tale was a nice and intriguing touch, yet this disappears almost as
soon as it features. Footage of empty buildings which once housed
livestock do not need animated pigs superimposed on top of them to
prove a point. It would have been far better to accentuate and
prioritise the investigative journalism of the piece – these were
the sections which I found to be the most convincing. The ‘stunt’
of the film, a small demonstration outside of the Ministry of
Finance, has been done far better elsewhere; but was still more
valuable than a rather long-winded dialogue on asset-stripping.
Despite these criticisms, Selský rozum has the potential to
be explosive if screened widely as part of the larger discussion on
Agrofert and Babiš.
The question here
centres around If and Potential. Last week’s election
has been and gone, and the lengthy process of piecing together a
government continues. Andrej Babiš is also being prosecuted, a fact
we all knew before a single vote had been cast. This did not stop ANO
enjoying the highest vote share in every region of the Czech
Republic. If a lot of these shady deals are common knowledge, it begs
the question of why this has happened. Is the political culture here
really so weak? Has there been any meaningful opposition to ANO over
the past few months? Is voting for ANO really a protest vote? I would
be interested to hear reader’s opinions on this point.
It is worth
approaching Selský rozum with an open mind - recognising that
there are a number of flaws in the documentary’s style and form,
but successful overall in crafting a persuasive argument.
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