Mario Klemens

Dreaming of creating a Czech musical theater, not recognized in his homeland, Josef Navratil, under the pseudonym of Iosif Ratili, one day comes on tour to Georgia.

The hero of the story is a forty-something intellectual, a sensitive composer of classical music. His exclusive profession, his work, which is actually incomprehensible to those around him, and his deep inner passion set him apart from the conformist milieu. Therefore, he tries to search for the "lark's silence" - a new strength, purity, truth, essence and roots of Czechism. However, on his return from the oppressive, alienated big city to his native village, to his former home, to nature, a deep disillusionment awaits him: he discovers that the once idyllic village has lost not only its face, but also any manifestation of spiritual life in its foolish attempt to resemble the city.

In this 1999 documentary, which took three years to shoot, director Jan Mudra reveals Hapka's obsession with creativity, his incredible energy, and his abundance of ideas. He recalls his family background, his studies at the acting conservatory, and his first roles in Czech films. Petr Hapka began his career as a composer in the 1960s. Even then, he began writing for Hana Hegerová, with whom, as he says, he entered into a musical marriage that continues to this day. In the film, his three main lyricists—Petr Rada, Zdeněk Rytíř, and Michal Horáček—recall their work with Hapka. Many viewers may be surprised to learn that Petr Hapka also composed the music for three famous plays by the Divadlo Za branou theater: Provaz o jednom konci (A Rope with One End), Zelený papoušek (The Green Parrot), and Hodina lásky (The Hour of Love), as recalled in the film by director Otomar Krejča. He also composed the music for several films.