The Pagan Queen

A controversial film about the end of the old pagan world in central Europe, "The Pagan Queen" is based on the Czech legend of Libuse, the Slavic queen of 8th century Bohemia. Gifted with supernatural powers, a visionary and a seer, this extraordinary woman was able to see the future, and in a turbulent time of cultural change founded the modern city of Prague. Libuse ruled as a woman over the tribes of the region with her two beautiful sisters Kazi and Teta and an army of women under the command of her best friend, the Amazon Vlasta. When the peaceful community of farmers is under attack by raiders and split into different parties of power hungry landowners, Libuse is forced into marriage by her own people. Desperate, she elects her long-time lover, charismatic ploughman Premysl, to become her husband and king. Soon Premyl takes over the new kingdom and rules with an iron fist, enslaving the formerly free farmers. But Libuse's friend Vlasta, who is secretly in love with her, refuses to follow the new leader and with her maiden army declares war on the men of Bohemia. The film is based on the 18th- and 19th-century romantic German fairy tales and plays by Johann Karl Musaeus, Clemens Brentano, and Franz Grillparzer, who emphasize the supernatural elements of the story and combine that with psychology and philosophy. This approach caused a massive scandal in the Czech Republic during the film's theatrical run.