Czech Filmmaker: Western Europe is Committing Suicide, Losing its Origins

Sputnik: What do you think about the multiculturalist trend?

Jiří Strach: In general, I think that national identities in Europe are so exceptional that multiculturalism, which is nowadays so popular and so supported, won't stand a chance. Despite all the internet and communications stuff we are still Czechs, they are still Chinese, Russians, and Germans. This cultural ‘multispace' cannot be united by force of the EU's will or a Russian presidential executive order.

Sputnik: How is it possible to unite separate cultures?

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Jiří Strach: The only way is respect and tolerance toward the differences. You can't find that in Europe. I went to Saint Petersburg two years ago. I felt like I was in a completely European city, say, Paris. When I come here, I don't find myself in an alien world. But, you realise it only when you contact different cultures.

I've been to China and Japan. Here I am in Beijing. At this moment I have two choices. The first one is to start telling them about our culture: ‘This is how we understand human rights, and you don't get it. This is our culture and yours is backward. We're eating burgers, and you're eating rice, you fools!"

Czech Filmmaker Jiří Strach visiting Monarchy festival. Moscow, 2018

This is the first way and there is another one, and I say: ‘Your culture and traditions are absolutely unique. Personally, judging someone by my own system of values, I don't have to agree with everything. Since I've come as a guest, I respect it'. At least, I have to respect their motherland, since I've come here as a guest. That is my view of multiculturalism.

Sputnik: You've been shooting a psychological thriller about a young man, who is trying to get into an old lady's favour. Why do you consider this topic relevant?

Jiří Strach: This is an important topic for me… Modern society and the youth tend to degrade the importance of the elderly. They simply don't want to see it, it disturbs them, it's pushing them back. Grandma's getting ill. It means we won't take care of her, because if we do, we won't have time to go to the seaside. What should we do with her? Let's take her to a nursing home. In the modern world, people mostly care about themselves, about their needs. Me and my freedom… But freedom has its limits. Freedom would be different, if it wasn't contained by some ‘anti-freedom', such as traffic rules: when it's red, you can't cross the street. God himself limits our freedom. He says: Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not kill, Honour thy father and thy mother.

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I don't say that we all have to go to church. I say that we have to remember the origins that have made us who we are. Especially today in the western world this political correctness does not allow us to offend minorities and other groups of people. Just imagine, we are afraid of calling Christmas — Christmas because it is a Christian holiday. We shouldn't offend Jews, who have Hanukkah, we shouldn't offend atheists… That is why we will call Christmas a winter holiday. I think it is the end and the collapse of the civilisation.

Now we pretend not to believe in God and not to have Christmas. However, I've come to the country, where you still have a ‘Native land protected by God' line in the anthem. It means that, even if you don't believe in God, you have an important origin, which you should never forget about. In the meantime, all of Western Europe is committing suicide, getting rid of its origins. I think it's a fatal mistake.

Views and opinions expressed in the article are those of Jiří Strach and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.