L’année du film tchèque au cinéma Styx

CZECH FILM YEAR at STYX in BRUSSELS
30 Janvier: Citizen Havel- Občan Havel
Director: Pavel Koutecký, Miroslav Janek / 2007/ 145min
After the split of Czechoslovakia in 1992, former political dissident, leader of the Velvet Revolution,
playwright, and essayist Václav Havel became the first president of a new country, the Czech
Republic. Thus it came to pass that a former enemy of the state was actually given the popular
mandate to transform that state and its institutions. Such events are not commonplace so, from day
one, he permitted his friend, filmmaker Pavel Koutecký, to be with him, to capture as much of it as
possible, whether in the Prague Castle or around the world. The result is Citizen Havel, a featurelength documentary of never-before-seen footage that provides an intimate look at a man thrust into
the spotlight of international politics and celebrity, trying to maintain a balance between public and
personal life while bringing his nation out of its communist past and into a free, democratic future.
27 Février: Kolya - Kolja
Director: Jan Svěrák / 1996 /105min
Based on a script by his father, Zdeněk Svěrák, who also plays the main role in the film, Jan Svěrák
shot a story of a bachelor who after a sham marriage with a Russian and her emigration to the West
becomes unexpectedly a father to a five-year-old boy. This touching story about a growing bond
between the aging man and the small Russian boy by the famouse father and son Svěrák, both
reknown directors, was awarded an Oscar for the Best Foreign Language Film. On the background we
follow the everyday struggle in the communist era Czechoslovakia.
26 Mars: Smart Phillip - Mazaný Filip
Director: Václav Marhoul / 2003 / 90min
A legendary parody on Western film done by the theatre Sklep (Cave) known for its absurd sketches
and sharp irony. A client going by the name of Charlie Brown hires Marlowe (Tomáš Hanák) for a
routine job: to find his missing brother. But what at first seems a simple case gets more and more
involved and Marlowe is slowly forced to uncover various conflicting trails of evidence. Along the way
he encounters an assortment of characters, many of whom are caricatures, as demanded by the
genre. Needless to say, he eventually brings the case to a successful conclusion.
30 Avril: Dreamers - Zoufalci
Director: Jitka Rudolfová / 2009 / 97 min
Thirty-somethings Linda, Radim, Tonda, Otakar, Dagmara and Silvie have been friends since they met
as teenagers. All of them arrived in the big city, Prague, from their small home town. The euphoric
dreams each had for themselves have not materialized and they are all starting to feel trapped in
different ways. They all seem to know one thing: what they don’t want in life. At a party back in their
home town they reminisce over one of their early dreams: to buy a farm, live together and, most
importantly, have fun with their lives. In the weeks that follow, each of them is faced with a crisis
that brings this old dream into sharper, more sober focus. Can they make it a working reality?
Do they really want to?
28 Mai: Sekal has to die - Je třeba zabít Sekala
Director: Vladimir Michálek / 1997 / 109min
Reknown director Vladimír Michálek adapted a symbolic story about Nazi occupation as it plays out
in a Catholic village in Moravia. A young Protestant blacksmith and partisan named Jura Baran takes
refuge in a village where the inhabitants live in fear of a local farmer. Through collaboration with the
Germans, he is taking over both their property and their lives. The only way out is to induce Baran to
kill him.

25 Juin: Samotáři – Loners
Director: David Ondříček / 2000 / 103min
In this story there are seven Prague-based characters, all in their mid twenties. Each reflects a part of
the chaos in our own lives, and the mess in our heads. Almost all of them attempt to forge and
sustain "serious" relationships, which in turn become a series of clashes and lead to disappointment,
and finally back to loneliness. More than a psychological study the films shows an aray of absurd
situations and bizarre observations and it gained a large popularity among the young generation of
Czechs.
24 Septembre: Little Girl Blue - Tajnosti
Director: Alice Nellis / 2007/95 min
This story of one day during which a life can be turned upside down was written and directed by Alice
Nellis and produced by Oscar winning director Jan Svěrák. Julie, a translator, has just moved into a
new house with her husband, Richard, and their teenage daughter, Cecilie. Their life is supposed to
be that of a perfect, happy family. Hearing news of the death of her favourite singer is the starting
point for Julie to realise that her life is not as ideal as it seems. First, she gets an impulse to buy a
piano. Then, during just one day’s journey pursuing this idea, she changes her life completely. She
must resolve her past and present first if she wants to start a new life. In this film about various
shapes of love, the role of Julie is an acting concert for the singer and violin player Iva Bittová.
29 Octobre: Anděl Exit
Director: Vladimír Michálek/ 2000/ 100min
Vladimír Michálek's fourth feature based on a book by famous young Czech writer Jáchym Topol. This
film about a drug dealer named Mikeš, who lives in Prague and longs to escape his own clichéd life,
excels for its raw atmosphere and expressive acting. The movie was shot digitally and then
transferred to film, and this became its main artistic attribute.
26 Novembre: Kouř – Smoke
Director: Tomáš Vorel / 1991 / 89min
"Musical of totalitarian age" is sub-title of movie SMOKE, in which Thomas Vorel emanated from his
second famous classroom film IING.(1985). A young engineer arrives on his first work place with
intention to work hard, which shows to be a shocking excess in the last years of the totalitarian
agony. Mirek´s uncommonly normal attitude initiates a „shaking of local history“, and social evil
(impersonated in incompetent bosses) is overthrown by the rightly indignant awaken crowd. The
picture has poetics typical for mentioned times: inosculating of the serious with unvalued, irony with
admiration, reality with bizarerie and absurdity.