Pavel Havránek

Director Tomáš Vorel created his experimental feature debut with members of renowned Prague non-traditional auteur theaters. The ensembles presented their own poetics and style through five "short stories" connected by satirical commentary by the "expert" Dr. Milan Šteindler, CSc.

In a chateau near Prague there is a chantry and brothel Riviera, designed for the clientele from the higher circles. Mrs. Gábi Stolařová, called Madame, keeps a close eye on order, but otherwise she runs the place in a family spirit and makes sure that the customers are satisfied. A new employee, the beautiful Renata, disrupts the order of things and immediately draws the attention of all the guests to herself. But beneath her angelically innocent exterior, she hides a fierce ambition and a coldly calculating brain, which, to her own detriment...

In the film, the creative forces of personalities from three spheres of art collide. The subtitle "The Game of Love and Hate" refers to the motivation of an old Czech medieval satire, the theme belongs to Antonín Přidal, an expert on this subject. His collaboration with Juraj Herz created a collage of past and present, an updated, sharp satire and a parable about the clash of human qualities that could not but end up in the vault. The music of the Prague Selection - Michael Kocáb and Michal Pavlíček - also contributed to the film's offensive provocativeness - the film was one of the reasons for their complete move to the underground. The dancing chorus of medieval citizens resembles more of a jumble of long-haired maniacs, the edge of a contemporary dump intrudes into the space of a medieval marketplace, and the characters oscillate between the past and the present, whether in their appearance, symbolism or behaviour.

The dreaded Italian mafioso, Marian Labuda, will also be convinced. Mafioso Carmello was guilty of the principles of his organization when he tried to fool the boss and earned a death sentence. The convict runs away from the killer through Vienna to Prague, which his Austrian colleague in crime recommended as a safe hiding place. None of them knows that the Czechs learned so much tricks under real socialism that a seasoned Italian professional is not enough to watch.

Funny banter about love, sex, social status, and other ideals, while a new railway employee is trained and sent on his first run as driver.

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.

In this fairy-tale comedy, a clumsy second-rate wizard, Rumburak, gets stuck in the world of humans. He has forgotten the spell that allows him to return to his home fairyland. His only joy is watching the figure skater Helen, whom he would like to woo. His hopes of returning to fairyland dawn when he discovers a computer in a research institute that could generate the lost spell.

No synopsis available yet.

Maryša, a peasant daughter, is forced by her greedy parents to marry a rich miller, a widower with three children. But she loves the village scoundrel Franck, who has no hope against Vávra. Francek goes to the army and Maryša and Vávra go to catechism with the priest. Maryša and Vávra's marriage is unhappy. The parents also realize their mistake, especially Lízal, who offers his daughter to return home. Maryša refuses and also rejects the proposal of Franck, who has returned from the army and asks her to run away to Brno with him. She chooses a tragic solution...

A comedy concerning a down on his luck bookshop owner with a penchant for women who decides to make some money by pretending to be a waiter and collecting cash from unsuspecting diners.

During the First World War, the crooks Scholef and Krumka sell weapons on the black market. After the collapse of the monarchy they try their hand at speculation on a grand scale.

A story about an everyday life of an inflectional department of Prague hospital.

Olda Raška, a novice pilot, is going through an emotional crisis that will greatly affect his professional abilities. Only thanks to the understanding of his superiors will he realise his shortcomings and overcome the crisis. While he begins his life's journey, the experienced pilot Lieutenant Colonel Lošťák has to quit flying for health reasons. The film is very skillfully crafted and attractive for its time, mainly due to the unique aerial shots and behind-the-scenes sequences from the airport.

No synopsis available yet.

The hero of the opening story, the Postman Puppet (directed by Zdeněk Troška), works as a postman in the mountains. When his wife is taken to the maternity ward, he goes on his usual hike through the solitudes. Little Libor goes after the father of two girls (Petr Pospíchal), who longs for a son. Meanwhile, the weather on the ridges worsens sharply. An experienced mountaineer and his little friend spend the night in a makeshift shelter... The second episode of Hádanka (directed by Jan Ekl) has a criminal plot. A new father (Vlastimil Hašek) gets drunk with friends in a wine bar and the next day becomes a suspect in a murder. He doesn't remember the critical moments, but his testimony leads to the capture of the real perpetrator... The main character of the final short story True Love (directed by Vladimír Drha) is a frat boy (Pavel Zedníček) who spends whole days in pubs. He gets a harsh lesson from his wife, who refuses to let him see the baby...

No synopsis available yet.

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.

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

A short film about Prague, Prague residents, and the beginning of the weekend.

The popular Moravanka brass band performs at the fair. Vasek Pivoňka, the bandleader of the local brass band Kulatěnky, which broke up, decides to put the band back together. The village musicians are sceptical at first, but later they start rehearsing with vigour. Standa, a Prague resident who is working in a pig farm to cure his nerves, helps them to organise the concert. He really likes Evica Kocourková, but her father keeps an eye on her. Young Šišák tries to charm the teacher Olina. Before the performance can begin, the band must succeed before the cultural committee. However, they fail to do so. The disappointed musicians play for themselves at the station and suddenly they are successful. Standa comes up with an idea how to push Kulatěnka through without the permission of the commission. A concert of Moravanka is being prepared in nearby Nechvalin.

Princess Valerie is a bit spoiled and bossy. So when she sniffs the magic rose of the devil's grandmother, whom she had previously offended, she loses her voice. And this causes real hell for Valerie, because the lady-in-waiting pretends to be her spokesperson and passes off everything she herself wishes as the princess's opinions. On her advice, the king organizes a ball, to which the princess is to wear an ugly green dress that does not suit her, and to get Albino of the Capes, whom the lady-in-waiting has chosen for her, as her groom. When Valerie gets rid of her nasty nature and finds out who really loves her, the rose will certainly help to undo what she has done.

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.

No synopsis available yet.