"Code Name Ruby"
1997
Directed by Jan Nemec

A remarkable experiment in non-narrative form from Czech New Wave member Jan Nemec, this controversial feature blends documentary, archival footage and fiction into an elliptical narrative in which two young people in Prague, an ancient seat for the practice of alchemy, follow the trail for a mystical philosopher's stone. History and future blend as Nemec, through brilliant montage sequences and fanciful leaps of the imagination, posits crucial questions about the legacy of the past and how it influences the individual's personal freedom and responsibility. With a script by Nemec and Iva Russelakova. With Jan Potmesil and Lucie Rejchrtova. Czech with English subtitles.  80 minutes.