Svatopluk Schuller

Christmas is approaching... By the river, in the winter fog, a woman huddles. She is a merchant from a nearby shop. She would give her right arm for a penny, so even the frost cannot dampen her joy at her Christmas catch. The carp will be fresh and, best of all, free! But the greedy merchant isn't satisfied. She plunges her net into the water again. "Let me go, good woman..." a gentle voice suddenly calls out from the river. The merchant can't believe her eyes—a magical mermaid has been caught in her nets!

No synopsis available yet.

This downbeat, grim drama about three brothers who are reunited at their mother's funeral is actually visually as dark as its story, making it difficult at times to clearly distinguish a scene. These brothers are not particularly exceptional as people go, but at least they have branched out into separate vocations in their lives. One brother is a doctor, another is a criminal, and the third is a bus driver. Like others in Europe, they suffered through World War II, yet no matter what their backgrounds and experiences, their interpersonal relationships are not exactly gripping drama.

The 11-year old Jakub is living in a children's home, when he is picked up by his father. The father has been "away" for four years, the boys mother doesn't want the child. Jakub gradually finds out, that his father is hiding a secret from him. But they gradually manage to build a warm relationship and a promising new life in the city.

The idea of mystery unites the three debut stories - the original Bermuda Triangle with its mysterious phenomena has begun to shift and can be traced anywhere in the world, including Czech and Slovak territory. Here, too, unexplained shifts in space and time occur. This idea is supported by the aforementioned short stories, but the inventiveness of the subject matter and staging is very heavy-handed, and the film passed through the cinemas without much interest.

Nineteen-year-old Pavel Kříž spends all his free time in Prague's arcades, bistros and discos with a group of thieves called Roby. Pavel has a high school diploma, but works as a window cleaner, and a large part of his income comes from the scams, scams and thefts of Roby's crew, to whom he supplies guaranteed tips. So he's not too happy when the cleaning manager assigns him a young temp, Jana Hálková. Although the girl makes no secret of her distaste for Pavel's way of life, a fragile emotional bond develops between them. But this cannot last in the environment in which Pavel moves. The young man gets into more and more trouble - part of Roby's party is caught by the police and he cannot find the money to pay back the debt. The situation escalates when a group of thieves kidnap Jana...

A directors autobiography about his debut during the rise of socialism.

No synopsis available yet.

The distressing fate of the Czech great Jan Amos Komenský, forced to leave his homeland after the White Mountain disaster. It depicts his encounters with various European personalities of the 17th century - the Queen of Sweden, artists and scientists. It emphasises the hero's nobility, but also his inner resilience, which allowed him to overcome many personal and professional tragedies. The parable of The Labyrinth of the World and the Paradise of the Heart becomes part of the story. However, Comenius's concept is sculpturally lifeless and, in particular, the religious dimension is "erased" from it. The simplistic biography therefore does not avoid schoolboyish dryness.

No synopsis available yet.

In one castle, there is a headstrong, spoiled princess named Maja, whose angry outbursts upset not only the servants but also her helpless father, the prince. No one could mistake this shrew for the kind and hardworking Mařenka from the castle grounds. But only until, thanks to the magic of a wise herbalist, the spoiled Maja wakes up in a poor cottage and the kind Mařenka in the luxury of the castle. Will anyone even recognize that they are completely different people? Will Princess Maja learn kindness, and will Mařenka achieve what she desires most?

One day, a mysterious servant named Dorian appears in the hut of the magician Boniface as an inheritance from Boniface's uncle. Dorian, punished for his pride, is a man by day and a cat by night. Part of his uncle's legacy is also a magic book, with the help of which Boniface begins to prosper. Dorian secretly discovers how to break his spell: he must find a girl with a heart of gold. Princess Ludmila from a nearby kingdom has such a heart, which she wears as a pendant. Dorian persuades the magician Boniface to use his magical powers to kidnap Princess Ludmila and make her his housekeeper. But the princess's bold and fearless maid, Anděla, easily deals with Boniface. And, of course, Dorian soon falls in love with the princess...

No synopsis available yet.

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.

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

Wartime events from a child's perspective were a popular theme during the previous regime - here it is a twelve-year-old village boy who experiences dangerous situations with retreating Nazi troops in picturesque South Bohemia... Any attempt to achieve a more believable depiction is destroyed by the staging's grandeur, and in the end the result is an awkward piece, suitable at most for celebrating the relevant national holidays. A longer copy with a tragic ending is stored in the NFA. Milda is shot unnoticed by an SS major.

No synopsis available yet.

The TV play tells the story of a woman who committed financial fraud at work. But she did not appropriate the money for herself; she was lured into the wrong act by dedication and a great, almost monkey-like love for her children. However, it is her teenage children who cannot understand that their mother, their model of decency and honesty, who taught them to safely distinguish right from wrong, has so disappointed them. The search for understanding and forgiveness will be very difficult.

An adventurous story about traveling through time and friendship across history. One summer morning, siblings Klára and David find a frightened little boy in front of their parents' cottage. They would like to leave the care of the strangely behaving child to someone more mature, but they are alone, so they have no choice but to take little Artur under their wing and try to return him to the place from which he wandered off. That same morning, another unusual visitor arrives at Dr. Hávová's veterinary clinic. A man whose behavior is somewhat unusual for today's world. He calls himself Robert and tries to pay for the food he has been given with gold coins. Independently of each other, the protagonists of the story uncover clues that lead to the cottage of a local eccentric named Kobza and further to a cave called Devil's Mouth. Is this cave really a gateway to another world and time? And will Artur and Robert manage to get back home through it?

A pair of criminals, an escaped prisoner and a young thief, are about to make a joint, obviously illegal, escape across the border. They escape for a long time, even managing to infiltrate Polish territory. They head for the coast, from where they intend to transport themselves to Sweden. But the Polish security authorities are vigilant.

The short stories about marriage that Vít Olmer wrote for Playboy magazine when Arnošt Lustig was its editor-in-chief are witty, often with absurd punchlines, and clearly show that the author is a keen observer of life around us. He selected five of them for his new Czech comedy, whose common denominator is actor Jiří Krampol, the main character in each of them.