The Golden Swan is a Czech period drama series produced by Dramedy Productions and directed by Biser A. Arichtev and Braňo Holíček.
It tells the stories of people connected with the eponymous department store of the era of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, set against the backdrop of historical events at the turn of the 1930s and 1940s Nazi episode.
Starring Marta Danzingerová, Beáta Kaňoková, Simona Lewandovská, Kristýna Ryška, Adam Vacula, Robert Mikluš, Petr Kostka, Daniela Kolářová, Tomáš Töpfer, Michaela Maurerová and others.
Bára Veselá is constantly pursued by bad luck and is on the run from the law. By chance, she unwillingly becomes a salesperson for the fashion department at the newly opened department store, Zlatá labuť. This store is a magnificent palace of luxury and is a new modern landmark in the center of Prague. The store holds a rich history behind its opulent storefronts. It is March 15, 1939, and the German occupation forces are invading the Czechoslovakian state.
The most beautiful lovestory of them all, is Irena and Alena’s lovestory.
“The story of Alena and Irena takes place behind the walls of the Golden Swan department store. They have to keep their love affair a secret. The year is 1939 and the occupation troops are crossing the state border of the Czech part of Czechoslovakia. This dark period also begins to cast shadows on the department store where the entire story of the series takes place.
Irena comes from a rich family, which in addition to a prosperous company also owns the Zlatá labuť department store. He lives in an estranged marriage with Lukáš, tries to keep the family business running and secretly meets Alena.
Alena is a saleswoman in the fashion department at Zlatá labuti. She is dating Jakub, but her heart belongs to Irena.”
~according to the Youtube channel Movie Recap
As viewers recently found out, Kristýna Ryška alias Irena has a secret relationship with saleswoman Alena. And he has a very serious reason to keep it a secret! In the 1930s, homosexuality was a crime. “The penalty for this is hard prison from one to five years,” states the criminal code in force at the time. In the publication Homosexuality in a social context it is written: “The most cruel persecution of homosexuals occurred in Germany during the Nazi era. Homosexuals have been registered in the so-called pink lists since 1934, in concentration camps they were marked with a pink triangle.”
“It’s every costume designer’s dream come true! Irena is a fascinating character, and moreover, she is played by a woman who is not only beautiful on the outside, but also on the inside. The job is one of the most enjoyable I’ve ever had the honor of doing. It’s pure joy,” she commented to the daily Aha! Worse with the fact that it can handle even greater extravagance. “She is in a high position, has a lot of money and aspires to be the artistic producer of the whole house. We can afford to be shocking with her,” she explained. In addition to very tight costumes and beautiful dresses, they also wear interesting knitted turbans or massive headbands, which even fans of black and white films of the First Republic are not used to at all.”
“And Kristýna’s plot line is also shocking – almost every episode ends in the arms of her lesbian lover Alena, played by Simona Lewandowski (23). “Alena is actually into girls and has an affair with Irena Kučerová, who is the daughter of the owner of the Golden Swan department store. He struggles a lot with it because it is forbidden. She has to marry Jakub, but she loves Irena,” told Simona some time ago. Her serial love does not take the lesbian scenes seriously. “I don’t deal with eroticism in front of the camera. I’m not exactly shy, so I don’t mind. It is much more difficult for me to shoot an emotional scene somewhere in a court, for example,” revealed the beauty, who is wrapped in luxury in Zlatá labuti”
The series can be seen on Voyo and there are many youtube and tiktok videos on Irena & Alena.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zlat%C3%A1_labu%C5%A5
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