Darina Mauréry

A family saga taking place mostly in a small Slovak village over a period of thirty years (1887–1917). The first part captures the life of Martin Pichandu in the development of his craft, masonry; in the second part, his son is center stage living in a period of socio-political crisis, which ultimately results in the first World War. After originally airing on Czechoslovakian television in 1983 as a four-part 226-minute mini-series, this production received a 163-minute theatrical release in 1984.

The dramatization of the novel depicts a period when the patriarchal way of life in Russia was coming to an end and the aristocratic-landowner world, with its philosophy of life and hierarchy of values, was giving way to new forces. Oblomov is an organic part of the environment in which he lives. He is as closed off as Oblomovka and its inhabitants. He lives his life on the sofa and finds all the hustle and bustle of his contemporaries meaningless. The principle of his existence is peaceful lethargy, an effort to isolate himself from the flow of events and time. His opposite is his friend Stolz, whose philosophy of life presupposes constant movement and entrepreneurial spirit. He believes that man is capable of transforming the world with his energy and intellect. Oblomov's love for Olga, although reciprocated, is doomed to failure because they expect the impossible from each other – she expects decisiveness and action, he expects self-sacrificing love...