Dreams upon the Stars: A Memoir of a Century.(Brief Article)

Pachl, Jarmila. Star Group. 1997. c.284p. photogs. ISBN 1-884886-03-5. $24.95. FILM

Written awkwardly in the third person and at times as cloying as a romance novel, this autobiography by Czech actress Pachl transgresses the "show, don't tell" dictum of writing. Although her work on stage and in silent and sound pictures spanned little over a decade, Pachl made an indelible impression on Czech cinema. Unfortunately, she explores those roles only cursorily here. Her descriptions tend to be trite, and the momentous and the banal are accorded equal emphasis. Although Pachl alludes to …