Mama
- Marketa and her husband, Karel, find themselves in the position of a lot of newlyweds: they have to deal with a parent neither one of them really likes.
- In this case, it's Mama, Karel's mother. Marketa and Karel decide it's best to move as far away from Mama as humanly possible, even though she has been widowed and lives alone.
- As time goes on, Marketa feels a little sorry for Mama and begins to write to her regularly.
- But even though Marketa and Karel now see Mama as harmless and a bit pathetic, they still don't want her living with them. They decide instead to invite her to stay for a week.
- Marketa and Karel have a scheduling conflict: Eva is due to stay with them at the end of Mama's week, and they definitely don't want Eva and Mama to meet.
- Marketa and Karel tell Mama that they have to be somewhere on that day, so she'll have to leave early.
- Mama seems fine with that, but the night before she's supposed to shove off, she tells Marketa that she's not leaving until the day after.
- Marketa is unhappy, but she feels that Mama won't be in the way when Eva gets there.
- Karel isn't really upset that Mama is staying longer than he had expected. She seems less horrible than before, and she also seems totally defenseless and sad.
- We learn that Mama has always had a problem with perception—she worries about getting in the pear harvest instead of worrying about the Russian tanks destroying their land—but now her vision is literally bad.
- Mama has also stopped caring so much about Karel's and Marketa's lives. She really couldn't care less about what's up with them these days.
- Now, Mama just seems fragile and old, not worried at all about playing the role of mom anymore.
- So Eva arrives, and we get some of the backstory on her—at least, from Marketa's point of view.
- Marketa met Eva in the sauna at a spa six years earlier.
- Marketa thinks that she doesn't normally like her husband's girlfriends (you read that right), but she considers Eva her friend since she met Eva first. She was charmed by the beautiful woman at the spa.
- We learn that Eva considers herself a "man-chaser," a woman who pursues men the way that men pursue women—for lust and companionship (her words, not ours).
- It's clear from the beginning that the two women dig each other. Marketa especially loves the way Eva praises her body.
- But now, Mama has overstayed her welcome and might be spoiling Marketa and Karel's "alone time" with Eva.
- Eva's chill about it and says that she doesn't mind the extra company.
- Mama is pleased that she pulled off her scheme to stay with Karel and Marketa a day longer. She's also happy to meet this cousin of Marketa's. Also, Eva reminds her of someone.
- Eva does a great job engaging Mama in conversation, asking her all about her youth.
- Mama remembers being a schoolgirl and reciting a poem when the Austrian empire came to an end. She had forgotten the last stanza, but the audience hadn't realized that she'd messed up.
- Karel challenges Mama's memory, saying that she graduated while the empire was still intact.
- Karel's challenge makes Mama sad and grouchy because she knows that he's totally right.
- But whatever, Mama's not going to admit it publicly, so she retreats to her room.
- Now, we get the Eva story from Karel's point of view—and it's quite a bit different from Marketa's version.
- It turns out that Karel met Eva years before Eva managed to meet Marketa in the sauna.
- Eva had sent a letter to Karel stating that she was a man-chaser and was kinda hot for him. Karel thought she was kidding but decided to check it out, anyway. He invited her to a friend's apartment.
- Eva is a bit awkward at this stage, and Karel thinks she's too determined in the way she declares her freedom from socially acceptable female behavior.
- It's not long before Karel asks Eva to strip, and she tries her best to do this erotically—to classical music.
- It doesn't really work. Eva is painfully awkward.
- Yeah, but when she's totally naked, Eva turns her back to Karel and begins to masturbate. Hey, it's right there in the book, folks.
- Let's just say that Karel is impressed.
- Karel's also impressed that Eva doesn't mind Marketa. She understands that "chasing" is a personality trait and has nothing to do with a spouse.
- Eva tells Karel she will help him out in any way she can.
- Meanwhile, back in the present time, Mama is in her room at the other end of the apartment. Eva tries to relieve the awkwardness of the situation by chatting with Karel and Marketa.
- Karel and Marketa learn that Eva's gotten married and has a new job—and that the new job demands that she leave them bright and early the next day.
- Marketa is annoyed that Mama is spoiling her time with Eva.
- Then, Karel gets a phone call from one of his lovers, who wants to make an appointment to see him.
- This phone call does not improve Marketa's mood.
- We learn that Marketa and Karel have a kind of unspoken "contract": Karel has never had any intention of being faithful, and Marketa just has to suck it up. On the other hand, Marketa gets to be the better person—though somehow, that doesn't seem to be a good enough perk for Marketa these days.
- Marketa's annoyed that she lives her entire life for Karel. She's even given up her special friend, Eva, to him, and she doesn't understand why she hadn't kept Eva for herself.
- Marketa thinks of herself as Sisyphus, rolling his rock eternally uphill.
- And how did Marketa get to this? In high school, she was a holy terror. And now? She can't believe her situation.
- Marketa suddenly detests her marriage.
- Eva finds the whole situation super awkward. She can't think of anything to bring her friends out of their funk.
- Karel hates feeling guilty about being an unfaithful jerk; Marketa hates being the better person in their relationship.
- Marketa, by the way, is hiding in the kitchen. Eva tries to talk her out of feeling bad, but Marketa's had it with Karel's cheating.
- Eva has something she wants to ask Marketa, but she has to wait until evening. She tells Marketa to make up with Karel, even if she can't stand her hubby anymore.
- Somehow, Marketa is able to follow Eva's advice, and the three of them start celebrating. They now really hope that Mama is sleeping so they can get the party started.
- Marketa and Eva go into the bathroom together to prep themselves.
- Karel, however, has no great hopes for the evening. He remembers the first time that Marketa had suggested they participate in a threesome—and how disastrous it was.
- Karel felt that it was too much work, having to meet the demands of two women. And then there was the jealousy of the women, who wanted equal attention from him.
- Karel wants to think Marketa is more depraved than he is (because she apparently needs to have orgies to feel fulfilled), but hey, there was that "contract" between them. He has to always be the worse one, according to that contract.
- In fact, the reason Karel "introduced" Eva to Marketa was that if the ladies got along, there would be no need for jealousy or bad feelings.
- On the other hand, Karel knew that he couldn't change Marketa's dim view of his behavior. He also feels like Sisyphus.
- Karel feels sorry for himself: he can never do what he wants (or with whomever he wants). Boohoo.
- Too much love is apparently killing the poor man—and now he wants to be alone.
- Back to Mama—who actually isn't asleep at this time. She finally remembers who Eva reminds her of: an old, beautiful friend called Nora.
- Mama doesn't have a favorable memory of Nora, but Eva seems like a nice girl, so she's glad to be reminded of the past.
- Mama tries to work out the problem of her spotty memory, especially the thing about the school poem. She figures out a way to correct her original story without losing face.
- Now, Mama's excited to tell her new story (and to tell about Nora), but she hears the ladies in the bathroom and thinks that they're getting ready for bed. She has to hurry if she wants to speak with them.
- Karel is actually pleased by Mama's ill-timed return to the living room. Eva steps out of the bathroom wearing only a T-shirt that doesn't cover much. And Marketa? She's only wearing beads and a sash on her waist. Eek.
- Mama acts like nothing weird is going on. She tells everyone the corrected version of her school poem story.
- Karel is loving every minute of this because it's making the ladies squirm. He asks Mama to recite her poem, and she does. Applause from Eva.
- Then, Mama tells Karel that Eva reminds her of their old friend, Nora.
- Karel has no problem remembering the beautiful Nora from his childhood. She was clearly Karel's first encounter with erotic feelings.
- Karel makes Eva stand up in her totally inadequate T-shirt and turn around so that he can check the resemblance. It puts her in an awkward position.
- Kundera reminds us that Mama's vision is really poor—thankfully.
- But Karel is trying to see Eva the way that Mama used to see things—out of perspective. He wants to see Nora when he looks at her. And he does: he sees naked Nora in the changing room of a spa with her back to him. (Remember that first meeting with Eva?)
- Karel dismisses Mama from the living room (the ladies want to sleep, blah blah blah). He's really aroused when he looks at Eva's back and remembers Nora.
- When Mama leaves, Karel pounces on Eva. He imagines that he's also leaping through space and time to have sex with Nora.
- And so Karel gets his orgy, moving between Eva/Nora and his wife, Marketa. When he stops to rest, the illusion of Nora melts away.
- Karel sees Marketa and Eva as they are and feels like a triumphant chess player who has played well on two chessboards.
- Deep in his fantasy, Karel starts screaming about how he's Bobby Fischer. Not weird at all.
- Now for the women's point of view. Eva and Marketa hold each other while Karel is congratulating himself on his sexual prowess.
- Eva asks Marketa if she will consent to her plan, and Marketa says yes. Eva wants Marketa to come visit her at her house—without Karel.
- Marketa first thought she would refuse, but then Karel got up to his weird antics while lovemaking, and then a light bulb went off in her head: Karel has turned it all into a game—like a masked ball, where their identities are hidden.
- Suddenly, Marketa doesn't have to be the "better one" in the relationship.
- Marketa has this insight because she's able to "remove" Karel's head from his body.
- We're talking mentally here; this isn't a David Lynch flick.
- Marketa focuses on Eva's face while Karel's body does its thing. And this works because there's no past with a headless body. She can forget all the wrongs that Karel has done to her.
- Karel's stupid yelling at the end of it all reinforces for Marketa that she loves Eva for herself—which is why she said she would go to visit Eva by herself.
- In the morning, Marketa takes Eva to the train station. Now she's not so sure about visiting Eva on her own; she doesn't want to "ruin" things with Karel.
- But Eva explains: Karel won't mind because he understands that he's the worse one. He'll never suspect Marketa of anything.
- Karel is on cloud nine in the morning, thinking about his bedroom antics of the night before.
- Karel drives Mama to the train station and, as before, she starts complaining about Karel and Marketa's past poor treatment of her. But nothing can touch Karel now.
- Also, Mama is showing her age. She looks so small and defenseless.
- Karel asks what happened to Nora. Mama tells him that they'd stopped being friends ages ago.
- Now, Karel is revising history for himself, imagining the young Nora and his present self together, despite time and space.
- Karel asks Mama to come and live with him and Marketa. Mama's happy to have the offer, but she's not biting anymore.
- Instead, Karel hands Mama some money, as if she were a child, and puts her on the train.