The Silence after Mankind

Vladimír Körner is one of the prominent Czech screenwriters and his contributions to the Czech cinema are considered equivalent to any distinguished director. According to his own words he is dealing with only one subject matter ? he creates an apocalyptic vision of a world without mercy and love. This analysis of his body of work and its singular structural elements broadens the discourse from which it is possible to look at his creative output. Körner?s influences can be found in modernist literary traditions, proto-novel structures and the philosophical tradition of existentialism. The analysis pursues his use of leitmotivs and recurrent themes that are the main vehicles of Körner?s artistic message. The pros and cons of his auctorial method are demonstrated through the analysis of the construction of the diegetic world and the characters, both continuously made of identical sems. The analysis points as well at him being one of the first authors who brought the theme of the shattered communal life and coexistence of Czechs and Germans. First and foremost it however tries to shed light on the evolution of his work from outstanding psychological dramas and historical allegories such as Adelheid, Údolí Včel (Valley of the Bees) and the novel Písečná kosa (Sandy Beach) in the sixties and fifties to midcult creations from the nineties and the beginning of the 21st century such as Krev zmizelého (Shadows of the Deceased). It relies on the neoformalist analysis of the sources that are his scripts, novels and novellas. In three case studies we as well examine the relationship between Körner and another creative contributor ? the director