Directed by:
Milan CieslarScreenplay:
Vladimír KörnerCinematography:
Jiří MacháněCast:
Vilma Cibulková, Martin Huba, Ester Geislerová, Igor Bareš, Václav Jiráček, Vladimír Dlouhý, Ondřej Vetchý, Jiří Lábus, Simona Stašová, Emma Černá, Karel Dobrý (more)Plots(1)
An intimate ballad following the lives of a mother and daughter who go through topsy-turvy historical times. The plot is divided into four seasons set between 1939 and 1961. A Czech woman named Helga works at a German hospital. Out of her love for a Baltic nobleman named Arno, a volunteer in the Finnish War, her daughter Dorli is born. But Arno commits suicide and after the war is over mother and daughter must bear the victors’ revenge alone – Helga is humiliated and expelled from her native region. Mother and daughter survive thanks only to the aid of the Jewish head doctor of the hospital. Many years later Arno’s body is exhumed and Dorli, who has always felt close to him, wants to trace her father’s roots. She and a Greek boy try to escape but Communist repression spoils their plans. In order to protect her daughter, Helga puts herself at the mercy of a secret police torturer… (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (1)
It is too sweeping and fragmented, which can be the price to pay for editing a TV series into a feature film. It is poorly cast - I consider the acting of Václav Jiráček wooden, Ester Geislerová has an acting range as wide as the selection of snacks in Russian supermarkets, and even Cibulková doesn't seem very convincing. The film holds together somewhat thanks to the performances of the supporting actors - Huba, Dlouhý, and Bareš. Cieslar's direction has never been able to inspire me. I consider him to embody mediocrity and wasted opportunities. Considering Czech standards and knowing the TV material, the film has decent production quality but even that cannot make me give it 3 stars. Overall impression: 45%.
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