Valentina Thielová

A look at the life, work and importance of Czech filmmaker Karel Zeman (1910-89), a genius of world cinema, a wizard of special effects, revealing his sources of inspiration and his revolutionary filming techniques.

The main characters are a young psychologist Doubravka and a village youth, Honza Macháček. He is a tractor driver who temporarily lost his driver's license in a crazy bet, so he now herds a cooperative herd of cows, she is at the cottage with her boy Boba, who is not very successful in studying medicine and is currently preparing for his remedial exams. Honza's immediacy, optimism and approach to life and work contrast sharply with the selfish, weak-willed and unbalanced Boba, and Doubravka increasingly realizes that her feelings for Boba have disappeared and that she actually loves Honza. The question is how her somewhat conservative family will view such a game.

Two female clerks using up their savings to enjoy a few days of carefree life, two plumbers looking for an erotic adventure, a building contractor determined to drink away all wages of his workers and a former major who became an alcoholic due to political persecution — these people meet in a ski resort bar somewhere in the High Tatras. During one night they gradually reveal their unfulfilled dreams, illusions and disappointments of ”average" people of those times.

Each of the four short stories, framed by the figure of the photographer, depicts the lives of women and girls whose work has brought them to the limelight, but also marked their relationships with those closest to them.

Three small short stories, each of which was created by one of the famous Czechoslovak filmmakers of children's films: Magdalena, Fraud and Karp.

Honza and Zuzana are very young husband and wife. They have a little daughter of whom willingly occasionally take care the grandparents and Honza's fifteen-year-old brother Martin. Zuzana continues studying and Honza devotes all weekends as an amateur competitor to the motor-cycles at the speedway. Zuzana is not interested in motor-cycles. Martin holds responsible for his brother's marriage and at the advice of his friend Magda, who is of the same age, invites her sister-in-law to the club of Hucul horses so that she does not feel bored. But by misfortunes and unexplained quarrels both young husband and wife start being jealous of one another.

Concentration camp commander Kraft finds out that prisoner Kominek is a former professional boxer. Overnight, the prisoner is made Kraft's exercise partner and unwillingly rises to a privileged position at the camp. His anger over the death of his friend and co-prisoner leads to open revolt. The film brings a new view of human degradation during fascism by a tragic story of one man whose only chance for survival is to accept the rules of an unequal game.

An escort composed of three people transports a huge amount of new one-hundred crown banknotes in a special railway car. At the 196th kilometer, a village girl is waiting at the railway crossing and spots two men removing some packages from the track. The scene is immediately followed by the report of a gun and the unwanted witness is shot dead. Soon afterwards, on the 201st kilometer, the train explodes. Only one of the escorts Lenk (Radoslav Brzobohatý) survives the explosion, taken to hospital with serious injuries. Criminologist Major Kalas (Jirí Sovák) and the very young Second Lieutenant Karlícek (Jaromír Hanzlík) patiently gather facts, leads and testimonies.

The hero, rushing from one misfortune to another, is former accountant Řehoř Maršíček, who after a heart attack, out of fear of death, decides to live a calm, moderate life and follow the principles of a healthy lifestyle. Not to smoke, not to drink, to exercise and eat healthily. He takes up the position of an auditor of patients and hopes that he will have peace in his new job. Instead, he experiences one nervous breakdown after another. He gradually makes one good resolution after another. Řehoř falls into unhealthy food, alcohol and women. In addition, he gradually loses most of his life's certainties, including a roof over his head. The result is a second heart attack, after which the hero promises himself again that he will fix everything and live a healthy life.

In the Czech film comedy from 1988, you can see for yourself that the war was not easy, but otherwise it was great fun. Sergeant Kouba serving with the paratroopers has a soft spot for women. His superior does not like him. However, during a military exercise on the way to the barracks, Kouba shows his true character when he saves the life of a little boy, convicts a thief and finds a lifelong partner in the commander's sister.

Why? (Czech: Proč?) is a 1987 Czechoslovak drama film directed by Karel Smyczek. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival. The film deals with the hooliganism in Czechoslovakia, particularly with the fans of football club Sparta from Prague, whose supporters were the pioneers of the football fan riots in Czechoslovakia, starting with hooligan actions already in the 1960s, like breaking the trains in which they travelled when they went on Sparta's away games. The film deals with one of such episodes

While Kendy returns to his hometown as an assistant director to film a thirteen-part series with a television crew, Štěpán Šafránek, equipped with his mother's advice after graduation, takes up his first position - as an intern at the local hospital. However, his inadaptability to local conditions and his sense of ethics in his chosen profession do not suit his other established colleagues. While they are amused by his zeal and responsibility, Štěpán has increasing problems with his superiors, until he is finally transferred to the position of rural district doctor, which everyone rejects. In Bezdíkov, however, he meets a new, perhaps permanent and reciprocated love, with whom he eventually decides to live and work in northern Bohemia.

During the Thirty Years' War, ploughman Petr, recruiter Matěj and country girl Lenka are caught up in both sides of the war and experience many adventures before they find happiness.

A young waiter named Michal gets into trouble when he is robbed of his daily takings, which he was supposed to deliver to the bank. He's on probation, so it's clear that no one trusts him. So he asks for help from a friend, Tomáš, a taxi driver, who borrows from Adamec, a dangerous bellhop. By chance, the two friends manage to find out that his colleague Kadlec and his son-in-law, garage keeper Bures, who is a stolen car dealer, are involved in Michal's robbery. With the help of Michal's girlfriend Magda, they devise a scam to punish the extortionist boss and hand over the two seemingly blameless scoundrels Kadlec and Bures to the police with the evidence.

The unfortunate 1930s also befell the student Standa Půlpán. For existential reasons, he had to abandon his studies and entered the mines. However, he only slowly and with difficulty became close to the older miners, rough men who were closed in on themselves. Only his brave stand in rescuing people who were trapped in a mining accident will win him the solidarity of the entire mining collective. Even Karel Čapek's draft once lent itself to promoting an exacerbated class interpretation of social relations.

Several foreign agents are interested in a famous Austrian scientist, the discoverer of an artificial protein. The endangered man never notices the trouble around him. His protection was entrusted to the mysterious Madame Elizabeth, amongst agents famed as the ' 006, in fact, working for State Security...

This comedy starring Miroslav Donutil tells the story of an American of Czech origin who returns to his homeland in the 1990s. At his parents' request, he is supposed to take over the family hotel in Prague and find a Czech bride. However, he has no idea what he will have to endure in the atmosphere of the 1990s, what condition he will find the property in, or what tragicomic situations he will have to go through before someone deprives him of his property. But in the end, he finds a girl who, unbeknownst to her, comes from the same background as him.

The plethora of heroines living in the makeshift former Women's Homes share one feature - they mostly feel lonely. Some of them got used to this state and resigned, others still believe in a happier future...

The second part begins shortly after the death of Michal Dostál, the biggest bastard of them all. Michal's father and grandfather are convinced that teacher Majer was behind the murders of all three students and was avenging his sister's death. They begin to psychologically torment Majer and search for evidence. The new police investigator Karas, who takes over the case from the deceased police investigator Paleček, is also looking for evidence. Karas immediately suspects something is amiss in the deaths of the "bastards" and also begins to focus on Majer, who is now the school principal.

Five short stories: The Master and the Twentieth Disciple; Every Week is Sunday; It's Boniface's Fault; The Raggedy Song; The Spider's Web.

Antony is obsessed with the idea of a happy family life, but his young daughter has to be cared for by the parents of his wife, who died in a car accident. Unfortunately, Martha, whom Antony has somewhat recklessly married, has a fundamentally different vision of her future than he does.

The heroes of this wacky spectacle are the large Karafiát family, who, in the emerging market conditions, decide to abandon their current way of making a living (stealing funeral wreaths and transforming them into artfully tied bouquets) and start a business. This is how the peculiar travel agency Český ráj, built on the ingenious idea of not taking poor Czech tourists abroad, but on the contrary, rich foreigners to Bohemia, sees the light of day. Thanks to a quirky advertising campaign, a motley mix of French people actually manage to board a bus in Paris and set off. But the Karafiats' entrepreneurial worries are just beginning.

People can be addicted to things, like high-calorie food. But the struggle against overweight and overeating is often futile, so the unfortunates have no choice but to lose weight under the guidance of experts - and they don't mind that the conditions in the sanatorium in question are quite oppressive and humiliating. Although, with a lot of good will, one could detect some metaphorical elements, the bitter comedy, reveling in naive stylisation, ultimately wants to be nothing more than an entertaining piece of work.

A mobile chapel of St. Florian is moved every week between the villages of Zbořov and Spáňovice. The farmer Florian Jírovec, who has to provide his horses for this event, is tired of it and therefore supports the proposal to build a proper brick chapel in Zbořov. The saint himself visits him at night and is rewarded for his efforts with a miracle. He sends him a golden cord from the sky, which can regulate the weather...

A crime writer is accused of being too imaginative and his ideas unworkable, but everything changes when an international criminal demands his professional cooperation. The somewhat freaked out and disbelieving hero is also surprised to discover that his own wife has unsuspected criminal tendencies...

František Cepl is a young man from a simple family. He graduated from a real school and was going to study technology. When the occupation came, he had to work as a factory assistant. There he meets an older man named Telec, whom everyone knows as Hrabě. He impresses František with his ostentatious disdain for work and his shameless flirtation with women. František, whom the Count calls Papilio (butterfly butterfly), is filled with youthful ideals, while the Count, on the other hand, is an extract of the crudest individualism. He has worked his way up from a student at a business academy and a theatre actor to a member of a pre-war gallery. He blackmails, steals, drinks, abuses women and, in a way, Papilio himself.

A car accident occurs and Dusan's teenage daughter Milena gets very seriously injured. To add insult to injury, Dusan is unable to donate a kidney when he finds out he is not Milena's biological father. Dusan is left to cope with his wife's infidelity, as well as the life of his ailing daughter.

The story of a practical education environment without superficiality, clichés and affectations. The film is based on a real basis and shows what happens when the system fails. Set in the harsh environment of elementary school. The group of local students - young thugs are accused of rape and murder of a young trainee. Still have not been sentenced yet and still attend school. Until it starts young teacher, who had his unorthodox approach gains the sympathy of other cantors and students. For what purpose, however, really came to school, find out until the end of the story.

A young man has led his whole life with his grandfather. When he was in school, he was the only one who was refused to join the Youth Brigade, since his father was sentenced to death for spying. When it is time for him to do the compulsory military service, he has to do it in a platoon for "unreliable" persons.

The fate of an unlucky director of a dismantled cultural house who temporarily believes in the meaningfulness of his actions, exposed to the pressure of many different difficulties.

Car transport of the locomotive is difficult, as the cargo is bulky. The three-man crew of the tractor therefore experiences many difficulties on the long journey across Bohemia...

František Brych, a principled lawyer, refuses to back the new Communist regime at his factory and grows increasingly alienated, even as his former love Irena, unhappily married to factory owner Ondřej Ráž, seeks his understanding. When he helps plan an escape over the Šumava border, the group’s panic and violence lead to murder, prompting Brych to abandon the scheme and return home with Irena.

Detective Weiner probes the death of Tomáš Ruml, found in a ruined house. Son of the architect behind a planned gypsy-quarter demolition, Tomáš seems a revenge victim, until Weiner meets Naha and uncovers Tomáš’ blackmail, rape and theft. Guided by baron Tancos, he must rethink the case from a new angle.

A young, unmarried woman finds herself a "little bit pregnant" and she tries to hide this fact from her mother but it isn't long before the truth is obvious.

A comedy about a young salesman Havelka, who gets his life's wish. He wins his dream car Spartacus in a lottery. So together with his fiancée, they experience a happiness they have never known before and have no idea that their dream car will complicate their lives...

The story of a music academy student Zdenek, who meets a charming girl, and without realizing also gets a son with her. Dealing with such a situation is not easy, especially when one day the child's mother disappears. Twenty year old Zdenek faces a serious decision. Although he is aware that a child may endanger his studies and perhaps even future career, he refuses to entrust him to the care of the state institution.

The story of a poor, disintegrating family of a mother Fišerová and her three children. It is set in the 1890s - a time when the poor working classes did not yet have the right to vote or a permanent eight-hour working day.

A story of two boys who during the summer at a recreation area become best friends despite being enemies at first.

Eva and her younger brother Johnny own two sentient octopuses made out of strange matter. Will their parents divorce and ruin Christmas? Will a scientist find a way to use their pets as fuel? Live action film with stop-motion octopuses.

The plot of the film follows a bus ride on the Prague - Karlovy Vary route and the actions of the people on it. A diverse group of people with various interests, professions and personalities gathered on the bus. Their encounter in the close environment of the bus gave the opportunity to create a whole series of good humorous situations. The ride on the express bus is a symbolic example of the contemporary life of our society, in which, just like when riding a bus, it is necessary to suppress many private interests and selfish qualities in order to successfully reach the destination.

A celebrated theatre director’s perfect life unravels when his wife’s secret lover exposes the hollowness beneath his success, leading to a calm divorce and his isolation in a luxurious but empty villa with his nearly grown daughter. His attempts to fill the void through a high-end escort only delay the real crisis, when he cannot accept his daughter’s first great love.

How it will end? Let's just tell you that on one side of the mountain, the stream that had run before it dries up, and on the other side of the mountain, the creek starts to breathe.

A quarter century after the release of the original film, this sequel brings us a drama about platonic love, life retrospective and memories. Former schoolmates meet again in the mountains and it turns out they have not changed much. Even though so many years have passed, we can still see the souls of boys and girls we know from the teenage comedy Snowdrops and Aces; kids who participated in that legendary skiing course. Its nostalgic humour gives the film a bitter-sweet touch. Thawing Out follows the lives of the main heroes during a period of great changes. How did they manage to escape the traps and what scars have they suffered? Where did they want to go, how far have they got and what is still in front of them?

Teacher Tomáš Majer, who joined a former special school in 2010, has disappeared. He arrived at the school several months after his sister Jana, also a teacher, was murdered. During the school year, the boys who murdered Jana Majerová mysteriously died. Tomáš Majer most likely avenged his sister in cold blood.

Carefree young nurse Marta learns upon her husband's death that he was involved in all manner of criminal activity, which puts her life in danger.

It all starts when two men arrive at the asylum. Mr. Houdek, who goes to see little Honzik Slavata, the illegitimate child of his colleague, whom he wants to adopt, and young Standa Hurych, who takes up a position as a driver. The pretty nurse Magda mistakes Standa for his father and is angered by his reaction. However, when Mrs. Houdková insists that the adoption will not take place until the child's true father is known, Standa offers to help Magda track down the father. He immediately sets about the difficult task.

A lone military unit carrying a cannon is stopped while moving from the training area by a gamekeeper who is in extreme distress because his son is seriously ill and needs acute medical attention. The lieutenant hesitates for a moment whether to help or move on...

Delinquent youths wander aimlessly and commit mischief. Few, however, manage to break free from the influence of such a gang. One of the lucky ones is a girl who grew up in an orphanage - already reformed and reformed, she remembers her dark past.

At the end of the 1950s, some filmmakers attempted to escape the ideological dictates by turning to psychological drama. We watch as an aging, uptight, strict woman who has come to inspect a regional publishing house literally blossoms and snows. A few days of comfort and happiness, however, are capped by a bitter epiphany: the man who had so charmed her has indeed embezzled the money entrusted to him.