Václav Knop

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

During the so-called normalization period, Teplice, once a beautiful spa town nicknamed "Little Paris," is devastated, much like the entire northwestern industrial border region. It is often shrouded in dense smog, making visibility limited to just a few meters. Teplice is also a stronghold of a specific punk subculture and a city of exceptional alternative culture. The story of Pavel and Renata primarily unfolds in Teplice. They aspire to live freely, in accordance with their ideals. However, their lives are consistently disrupted by the repressive communist regime.

Charming 60-something José returns to Prague after 30 years living in Mexico, though he was convinced that he would never see his hometown again. He was persuaded by his deeply religious Mexican wife Dolores, who is convinced that only a miracle that might be fulfilled by Prague’s famous Infant Jesus can help their daughter Penelopé get pregnant. And the ideal time for this is Christmas. And when Ruda, his friend from Prague, also insists, José agrees to return to the places he used to know and to the memories that they bring back – including his former Prague love. And it becomes evident that the Infant Jesus is not the only one capable of making miracles come true in Prague. Penelopé’s longed-for conception is definitely not the only one…

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.

In a godforsaken cave, a traveling journeyman fills his pockets with gold. Voita lost his father and mother in the war and is now seeking his fortune in the world. He got to the abyss at Gallows Mountain only by chance - or have mysterious powers led him there in this spooky stormy night? Suddenly, he notices a strange fellow among the treasures. The apparent ghost and custodian of this treasure chases away the young man, who still manages to secretly pocket a small, fateful lighter...

Adam had his life ahead of him; all that was left was to finish his exams and apply to university. To fight off boredom and to feel relaxed and funny, he turned to alcohol. Then came the trouble. Now at a rehabilitation centre for alcoholics, he initially defies the strict regime here. His views of the treatment and himself change only thanks to an empathetic therapist. The inhospitable environment becomes a place of self-reflection on an event that irreversibly changed Adam's life.

In trouble with the mob, a criminal spots a golden opportunity when he meets a teacher who bears a striking resemblance to him.

Prague, Czechoslovakia, during the inter-war period. Jan Dítě, a young and clever waiter who wants to become a millionaire, comes to the conclusion that to achieve his ambitious goal he must be diligent, listen and observe as much as he can, be always discreet and use what he learns to his own advantage; but the turbulent tides of history will continually stand in his way.

No synopsis available yet.

The psychological story begins innocently enough with a meeting between two young people in the basement of a suburban house. A flirtatious and bored girl, who is not particularly selective about her lovers, provokes an unpredictable reaction in her partner with her unexpected rejection. Not only does the boy rape the girl, but, fearing discovery, he kills her. All this is witnessed by a little boy wandering through the holiday-empty house, who thus becomes an inconvenient and dangerous witness for the murderer. The psychological and later physical "battle" between these two unequal opponents, who are not really opponents at all, culminates in a story of guilt and punishment, and at the same time of a special friendship and loyalty.

A young high school student is flying to Canada for a study abroad program. He is very excited and does not even notice the subconscious fear of his parents, especially his mother. When a tragedy occurs far away "across the pond," it turns the lives of all the characters in this story upside down. It shakes up their destinies, lives, feelings, moods, and even their futures...But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

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.

At the age of twenty-eight, Karel Havlíček Borovský is at the height of his fame and political influence. He owns the largest Czech newspaper, is widely known, admired by all, and financially secure. He has a beautiful young wife, Julie, and his future seems to be firmly in his hands. Slowly, however, a hostile, anonymous gray machinery of the state apparatus begins to take effect around him. Its embodiment is Havlíček's close friend Wagner, who is one of his admirers, but at the same time, he is also a secret police officer, a loyal representative of state power. The higher Havlíček's star rises, the longer...

A serial killer murders wealthy businessmen. He lures them to his sprawling estate under the pretext of selling it. However, one of the murders does not fit into this series, even though it is similar to the others to a certain extent. The widow of businessman Sojková is also a suspect, but she is also acting as an amateur detective. She searches for her husband's killer on her own, as she believes the incompetent police are unable to catch him.

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.

Dr. Lauren is staying in Prague for a conference and falls in love with Czech writer Jiri Kolmar.

An elderly paper-crusher branded a fool in Prague secretly stashes condemned books, preserving their contents and extrapolating from them eccentric scenarios of wit.

No synopsis available yet.

Even a college education does not protect against temptation—the young hero ceases to distinguish between right and wrong, but strangely enough, even his education does not help him to detect the fraud committed against him in time. Michal Najman, a student at the University of Economics, earns extra money as a pest controller. After being accused of exterminating expensive nutria, he signs a bond for a considerable amount of money. He naively agrees to repay the large debt without verifying its validity. He does not have the money and decides to obtain it through currency exchange and later through theft. And so, the initially blameless young man sinks deeper and deeper...

The film tells the story of an enthusiastic young man who joins a textile factory in the late 1950s and assumes that a promising career awaits him - the protagonist is therefore constantly comparing himself to his favourite literary model, the equally ambitious Julian Sorel from Stendhal's fresco The Red and the Black. The result, however, lacks the necessary conviction, the ability to draw the viewer into his world, and remains too contrived, as the chosen period has become a mere non-committal backdrop for amorous games.

The common theme of the short story film is the famous duels between two important historical figures: Pushkin and Casanova. Pushkin's tragic duel, which ended his life prematurely, is portrayed in connection with the creation of his short story "The Dirty Shot", while Casanova's story is conceived in a rather ironic and humorous way. The point is that the famous seducer never actually seduced, on the contrary, all his life he was in a constant battle with female seductions.

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

Jazz musician and trumpeter Beno is originally Slovak, but has been living in Prague for a long time. As a true bohemian, he does not recognize any limitations in his personal or artistic life. He is devoted to jazz with body and soul and despises any form of pop music. That is why he rejects the lucrative offers of his girlfriend, the successful singer Gábina. He also successfully faces the pressure of his much younger girlfriend-to-be and her defiant mother. Beno often has to pay for his tricks, but he accepts this with open eyes. Beno is ably supported by his friend, saxophonist Emil, known as Rampouch.

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.

Anyone who claims that you can't live with half a heart should be invited to a fairy tale about a king who once gained a crown in exchange for half his own heart. He gained a crown for part of his heart, but he lost much more – himself, his wife and his child. The prince must undergo difficult trials and fight a witch to save King Oskar and the kingdom...

At the beginning was the Slovak television series Lekár umierajúceho czasu (Doctor of Dying Time), dedicated to the Rudolphine-era scientist Jan Jesenius. He ended up on the scaffold along with other gentlemen after losing the anti-Habsburg uprising. When director Miloslav Luther conceived the idea of making an abridged version of the footage for cinema, he had to not only rebuild the storyline but also dub it into Czech. However, the result was only an illustrative puzzle, describing the various stages of the hero's turbulent life.

Francin, manager of a small-town brewery, has a charming wife whose abundant blonde locks are an adornment to the town. Maryska looks ethereal but loves meat and beer, while Francin is an ascetic. The strict members of the brewery board of directors come to audit the accounts, but are diverted from concentrating on Francin's detailed reports by Maryska, who has organized a pig-killing feast and is ably assisting the butcher. When she invites the old curmudgeons on the board to enjoy the fresh pork, they are too happy to agree. Francin doesn't know whether he is going to get a permanent contract. To make things worse his brother Pepin - eccentric, noisy and garrulous - turns up on an indefinite visit.

Pan Tau, the friend of all children, now also helps the adults. A movie producer is in trouble and decides to shoot another Pan-Tau movie. But the old Pan-Tau actor Karasek is no longer young enough to walk the almost weightless walk of Pan Tau. Mr. Novak turns up - he resembles Pan Tau like a twin brother. He succeeds every pirouette. And as if by magic, he solves all the problems between people! Who is Mr. Novak? Is he really ...?

In the late 1980s, several films were made that wanted to come to terms with the crimes of Stalinism, but they did so with a very alibi - they basically communicate that it is enough to remove the erroneous deviation of the communist regime for this social system to become fully humane again. This also applies to the immediate post-war fates of former front-line fighters - one fought in the Soviet Red Army, another in the English Air Force, another was a soldier in the Slovak Army. The difficult character check will only be completed by the 20th Congress of Soviet Communists, which condemned recent blunders. The film was made based on a proposal by former Foreign Minister Bohuslav Chňoupek.

No synopsis available yet.

A story about a life of a group of children in the foster home.

The Spanish king marries the beautiful, clever and poor Charlotte, who is jealous not only of himself but especially of his mother, who has had him all to herself until then. She takes advantage of his jealousy and gets the king to have the young "queen" imprisoned. Charlotte manages to escape to England, where she accidentally meets her rich uncle Lord Spencer. Thanks to him, she achieves justice and manages to regain the king's love and trust.

No synopsis available yet.

The Slippers of Happiness is another film made by the Slovak Film Production in co-production with West German companies based on classic world fairy tales. After Slovak folk tales [The Greatest Peck in the World, Salt Over Gold] and the works of German fairy tale writers Wilhelm Hauff [The False Prince] and the Brothers Grimm [The Land of the Thrush's Beard, Perinbaba], screenwriter Alex Koenigsmark and director Juraj Herz were inspired by the famous fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. It tells the story of slippers that the Fairy of Fortune enchanted so that they would fulfill every human wish and thus bring people happiness. The filmmakers humorously transferred the plot from Copenhagen to old Prague.

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 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.

The future communist journalist Julius Fučík had a stimulating childhood and youth in a working-class environment, when his moral maturity was already showing. The authors of the film recall that the young Julek was a star of the suburban operetta scene, and in three episodes they depict him both in his early childhood and already at the gymnasium, when the outbreak of the World War shaped his determination.

The top sport was also closely monitored in the communist era, and officials were naturally bothered that the pentathlon team failed to win the World Championships. But the measures that should have ensured redress were caught up in a web of behind-the-scenes machinations that backfired on the athletes themselves, their endurance and their family backgrounds. While the film has critical ambitions and wants to reveal much of what should have remained hidden from the public eye, it is a rather clumsy and schematic view, not very convincing in terms of realisation.

A narration of episodes from the life of the famous Czech poet, Karel Hynek Mácha. Throughout the film, we witness a deep analysis of Mácha's complex character (his relation to another Czech writer of the time Josef Kajetán Tyl, his unbearable jealousy, his solitude, his attitude to nature,etc.) on the well-depicted historical background with all its particularities.

No synopsis available yet.

After arriving at the mysterious castle, the university professor begins to encounter a sequence of mysterious events, to which he reacts with his rational thinking and tries to explain them logically.

An extraordinary event occurs at a rural pharmacy. Pharmacy manager Sychra discovers that one of the pharmacy staff has mixed peroxide into the ointment instead of distilled water. During the night shift, he immediately calls all employees to the workplace. It turns out that the defective medicine has already been dispensed to four sick children. Although it does not pose a health risk, it is a burden for the children. The search for the culprit focuses on Lída, a lab technician and honest worker who immediately admits to the mistake, saying she used an unlabeled bottle. However, it is clear that someone else was involved in replacing the distilled water with peroxide...

No synopsis available yet.

Woodcutter Ondra, who for his bold nature is called Nebojsa. He goes into the world to learn fear. During his journey, on which he is accompanied by a cowardly thief Ferka, he can deal with a bunch of bandits, vicious mill, fiery rock and eventually he must confront the evil wizard who swore a beautiful princess. Will Ondra do all his courage and ingenuity to liberate Princess?

A dramatic story about the devastation of the environment and human character.

No synopsis available yet.

A young man seeks freedom and eventually gets conformed. To escape society, he wanders south. After some adventures he returns to his lover, where he expects a civil career.

Chytilová was not allowed to direct films between 1969 and 1976. The sole exception was the made-for-TV film Kamarádi, now virtually unknown.

This feature film based on the events of 1938 is a chronicle of the futile efforts of the Czechoslovak president Edvard Benes (Jirí Pleskot), politicians and ordinary citizens, to save the independence and the territorial integrity of the state from the advance of Hitler's Germany. On the 29th of March 1938 the leader of the Sudeten Germans Henlein (Werner Ehrlicher) has a meeting with Hitler (Gunnar Möller). Hitler orders him to intensify pressure on the Czechoslovak government. On the 24th of April in Carlsbad, the Sudetendeutsche Partei (Sudeten German Party) decides upon eight demands that are unacceptable to the Czechoslovak President, since they would ultimately lead to the break-up of the Republic. Benes still shows a certain willingness to negotiate, and Henlein resents this. The Germans are determined to make further negotiations impossible through incidents and violence.

No synopsis available yet.