Directed by:
František VláčilScreenplay:
Jiří KřižanCinematography:
Ivan ŠlapetaComposer:
Zdeněk LiškaCast:
Juraj Kukura, Marta Vančurová, Gustáv Valach, Gustav Opočenský, Karel Chromík, Jiří Bartoška, Zdeněk Kutil, Augustín Kubán, Ilja Prachař, Robert Lischke (more)Plots(1)
Paying tribute to sober heroism, this drama is formally the most concise of Vláčil’s three films set in the troubled period just after the Second World War. The story unfolds in a remote part of the Beskydy mountains, where a shepherd and his young family are held hostage by five armed Ukrainian nationalist paramilitaries, who force their way into their home, seeking temporary shelter. In the spirit of the classical drama, the director brings into play the unities of action, time and place, creating a masterful sense of increasing tension through his characteristic methods: dynamic lensing, unusual and expressive camerawork, knife-edge scenes half shrouded in darkness, muted delivery from the cast, the use of powerful musical motifs and also prolonged periods of silence. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)
(more)Cast
![Juraj Kukura](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/268/268619_89d0f6.jpg)
Juraj Kukura
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Shadows of a Hot Summer (1977)
Kukura (2014) (theatrical recording)
Demeterovci (1976) (TV movie)
![Marta Vančurová](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/163/857/163857539_573c14.png)
Marta Vančurová
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Gazdina roba (1992) (theatrical recording)
Forbidden Dreams (1986)
Joachim, Put It in the Machine (1974)
![Gustáv Valach](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/270/270825_d80898.jpg)
Gustáv Valach
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Pštrosí večierok (1969) (TV movie)
Shadows of a Hot Summer (1977)
Henrich IV. (1987) (theatrical recording)
![Gustav Opočenský](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/268/268579_cf9555.jpg)
Gustav Opočenský
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Witchhammer (1969)
The Ear (1970)
Funeral Ceremonies (1969)
![Karel Chromík](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/127/186/127186519_88e8e2.jpg)
Karel Chromík
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
The Petroleum Lamps (1971)
Shadows of a Hot Summer (1977)
Cops and Robbers (2001) (series)
![Jiří Bartoška](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/164/810/164810745_e39798.jpg)
Jiří Bartoška
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Bratři Karamazovi (1981) (theatrical recording)
Hřbitov pro cizince (1991) (TV movie)
Sense of Tumour (2024) (series)
![Zdeněk Kutil](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/268/268695_6a9377.jpg)
Zdeněk Kutil
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Ubohý pan Kufalt (1981) (TV movie)
All My Compatriots (1968)
The Good Soldier Schweik 2: Beg to Report, Sir (1957)
![Augustín Kubán](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/272/272716_65869c.jpg)
Augustín Kubán
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
The Mystery of the Carpathian Castle (1981)
The Millennial Bee (1983)
Shadows of a Hot Summer (1977)
![Ilja Prachař](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/167/539/167539145_4wort3.jpg)
Ilja Prachař
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
The Cremator (1968)
Ubohý pan Kufalt (1981) (TV movie)
Král Krysa (1979) (theatrical recording)
![Robert Lischke](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/165/185/165185968_ffd47b.jpg)
Robert Lischke
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Shadows of a Hot Summer (1977)
Michal Ladižinský
Best movies:
Shadows of a Hot Summer (1977)
Love Between the Raindrops (1979)
![Ľudovít Króner](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/090/373/90373936_ce6c69.jpg)
Ľudovít Króner
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Funeral Ceremonies (1969)
Shadows of a Hot Summer (1977)
Nepokojná láska (1975) (series)
Jana Hliňáková
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Shadows of a Hot Summer (1977)
Chlapi přece nepláčou (1979)
Klec (1973) (TV movie)
![Marie Logojdová](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/480/480013_cf5e39.jpg)
Marie Logojdová
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Shadows of a Hot Summer (1977)
Smoke on the Potato Fields (1976)
Její pastorkyně (2012) (theatrical recording)
![Milan Šulc](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/097/319/97319121_a149d2.jpg)
Milan Šulc
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Shadows of a Hot Summer (1977)
Cops and Robbers (2001) (series)
Věčný tulák (1990) (TV movie)
![Steva Maršálek](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/156/158156491_79e356.jpg)
Steva Maršálek
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Muž v pozadí (1995) (series)
Merlin aneb Pustá zem (1988) (theatrical recording)
On the Comet (1970)
Václav Kovařík
Best movies:
Shadows of a Hot Summer (1977)
Marketa Lazarová (1967)
Křehké vztahy (1979)
Andrea Kratochvílová
Best movies:
Shadows of a Hot Summer (1977)
Brontosaurus (1979)
![Karel Hovorka st.](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/275/275705_643e4d.jpg)
Karel Hovorka st.
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Jako kníže Rohan (1983) (TV movie)
The Cremator (1968)
Secluded, Near Woods (1976)
![Karol Machata](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/782/160782023_1c59c7.jpg)
Karol Machata
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Midnight Mass (1962)
Shadows of a Hot Summer (1977)
Red Wine (1976) (TV movie)