The Valley of the Bees () is a 1968 Czechoslovak historical drama film directed by Frantià ¡ek VláÃÂil. The film follows a young man Ondà Âej who's sent to join the Teutonic order by his father. When he flees the order and returns home, his friend Armin is determined to bring him back.
The film is set in the 13th century. The lord of Vlkov marries much younger Lenora. His son Ondà Âej gives live bats to Lenora as a wedding gift, which enrages his father who almost kills him. He prays for the boy to survive. He promises to God that he will give Ondà Âej to the Teutonic Order if he survives. Ondà Âej is healed and sent to the Baltic Sea, where he joins the Teutonic Order. He befriends Armin who becomes his mentor and protector. Armin participated in the Crusades to the Holy Land and is a fanatic who is devoted to God.
Knight Rotgier tries to leave the order and escapes. Ondà Âej, Armin and other members chase him. He is found by Ondà Âej and tries to convince Ondà Âej to leave the order. Ondà Âej hesitates to arrest him but declines. Rotgier injures him and steals his horse. Rotgier is eventually captured and executed for attacking Ondà Âej. Ondà Âej is punished by penitence for his weakness. Ondà Âej decides to run away. Armin decides to track him down.
Armin travels to Bohemia where he hears about Ondà Âej from charcoal burners who wanted to steal his sword. Armin joins them and when they surprise Ondà Âej, he attacks the one who wanted to steal his sword which makes the other charcoal burners attack him. But Armin draws his sword and kills or scares them away saving Ondà Âej's life. Ondà Âej's sword has been broken in the fight and Armin forces him to go with him. Later, near a brook when Armin bends over to drink, Ondà Âej hits him with a stone which causes Armin to fall unconscious and Ondà Âej escapes.
Ondà Âej returns home only to find out his father is dead. He takes care of his father's business, but feels remorse about what he did to Armin. Ondà Âej falls in love with Lenora and convinces a local priest to marry them. When they are getting married, Armin shows up. Ondà Âej invites him to the wedding but tension between them runs out. Ondà Âej convinces Armin to spend the night in Vlkov. During the night, Armin gets to Lenora's chambers and murders her. He gets caught and Ondà Âej decides to execute him in a similar manner as Rotgier was killed. Armin begs Ondà Âej to return to the order before his death. The film concludes with Ondà Âej's return to Teutonic Order.
The film was produced after VláÃÂil's previous film Marketa Lazarová. Marketa was very expensive and it was decided to make another film set in Middle Ages so the sets and costumes could be re-used. However by the time production started the sets from Marketa Lazarová were already destroyed. The screenplay was written by VláÃÂil and VladimÃÂr Körner. Körner was doing research for his novel PÃÂseÃÂná kosa about Prussian uprisings when he was contacted by VláÃÂil. They quickly wrote the screenplay and the film immediately went into production. Körner released Valley of the Bees as a novel in 1975.
The film was eventually shot at Kuklov monastery ruins near Brloh. The Teutonic order scenes were shot at Czech castles Karlà ¡tejn and Rabàand Polish castles Malborg and Lidzbark Warmià Âski. Theodor Pià ¡tÃÂk designed the costumes for the film. VláÃÂil was inspired by historical movies of Ingmar Bergman and Robert Bresson.
Jan KaÃÂer was originally supposed to play both Armin and Ondà Âej. It proved to be technically impossible so KaÃÂer suggested Petr ÃÂepek for the role of Ondà Âej. The director demanded that ascetic knight Armin needs to be slim, so KaÃÂer was forced to lose 11 kilograms for the role. The film was shot from July to October 1967. Post-production ended in December 1967. The final budget was 4 379 000 KÃÂs.
The film had a premiere on 17 May 1968 at Kino U Hradeb in Prague. During its theatrical run it only managed to attract 350,000 viewers. The film was re-released in theatres in 1980.
The film was released on DVD in 2007 by Bonton in the Czech Republic. A Second Run DVD with English subtitles was released in 2010.
The film received mixed reviews from critics. Many felt that it didn't reach the qualities of Marketa Lazarová, which premiered just 4 months earlier. Gustav Francl criticized the casting Jan KaÃÂer, who he felt didn't fit in the role of Armin. The film had better reviews in foreign press and today it is considered one of VláÃÂil's best works.