No. 063 - Scott McKenzie’s “San Francisco” changed my life
The Prague Spring, Soviet invasion, and hopeful emigration — how a Czech film set in 1968 changed Gabi Cinkova as a child in the early 2000s
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This Song Changed My Life is an independent music publication featuring essays from people all around the world about the songs that mean the most to them. Created by Grace Lilly, supported by readers.
• 3 min read •
In hindsight, I was probably too young to be watching Rebelové (Rebels), a Czech retro-musical-love-story film that we acquired somewhere in the early 2000s during one of our yearly vacations to visit family and friends back home in the Czech Republic. It was different from the usual Mr. Bean and Le Gendarme de Saint-Tropez we had in our VHS collection growing up, and I wasn’t prepared for the change in genre.
I didn’t fully understand the plot but watched it anyways, my imagination filling in the blanks for me. I suppose those of you with older siblings can especially sympathize, having always tagged along watching whatever they were into. (Did anyone else also watch Grease and think there were two Sandys in the movie — Sandy and Sandra Dee — until finally connecting the dots later on? Just me?)
But back now to Rebelové. In one of the scenes, set against the backdrop of the turbulent events of 1968, with Czechoslovakia heading from the hope of the Prague Spring to the devastating invasion by the Soviet Union, three friends who ran away from the army together are chasing a train that will take them out of the country, with hopes of eventually reaching San Francisco.
Only two make it onto the train, with the third and main character, Šimon, falling too far behind and only just managing to give his friends the paper with the address they were aiming to reach in San Francisco. He promises that they will meet up again just a month later. Unfortunately, (spoiler alert) he ends up being found and arrested for desertion from the army, which puts an end to his dreams of leaving the country and joining not only his friends, but also his love Tereza who has made the decision to emigrate as well. The song “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)” by Scott McKenzie (covered by Jan Kalousek in the film) plays in the background.
Despite my young age and questionable understanding of plot lines, hearing this track changed me. I felt for the characters, for the pain of separation, the longing for freedom, the sadness of missed opportunities, and their hopes of starting over.
I cried, not only because of the scene, but also because San Francisco held a more personal connection — my parents had moved there with us from Prague just a few years before.
To this day, whenever I hear this song, I think back on the film, and on the trajectory of my own life, and how different it might have been if my parents hadn’t decided to move. I think about how difficult it must have also been for them to make that leap and start over, albeit under different circumstances, but still at such a young age and with two small children in tow. I also think about how hard it must have been for my grandparents to see them move so far away at the time.
Now, as I navigate big moves of my own, I think about how much easier it is for our family to stay together, with technology helping to close the physical distance between us. When we first moved to the US, my parents had to rely on the occasional email to keep in touch, all of which my grandmother has since printed out in a series of hardcover books — including all of my own emails that started the same way every time, “Dear Grandma and Grandpa, How are you? I’m good.”
And even though I have my grandmas and grandpa on WhatsApp now (my opening line is still pretty much the same), and I live thousands more kilometers away from both the US and the Czech Republic, “San Francisco” still brings me back to remind me of where I come from. ◆
Categories
Friendship • Family • Coming of Age • Romance • Grief • Spirituality & Religion • Personal Development
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About Gabi
Gabi Cinkova is a freelance communication strategist and ice cream enthusiast. She is currently living in Abu Dhabi, landing there by way of very long layovers in Brussels, New York, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Prague.
Instagram @gcinkova
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