Discoveries from Czechoslovakia World Cinema

Ivan Hálek, son of the famous poet Vítězslav Hálek, studied medicine and devoted his life to the Slovak countryside. In the poor Kysuce region, he not only treats the local villagers, but also makes an extraordinary contribution to education. At the same time, he struggles with lingering superstitions and mistrust. However, the hero and his young wife also become acquainted with folk customs, songs, and the colorful culture of the poorest. And he proclaims that only those who rid them of terrible mass poverty can provide these poor people with true living water.

The film is set in the environment of the internationally renowned Pardubice Steeplechase, with the main roles being devoted to equestrian sport outside of filming.

An adventure film about the struggle of the Czechoslovak security authorities against Western agents. In an express train departing from Nuremberg station, a cigarette box with plans and instructions for the destruction of one of the Czechoslovak dams is stuck under the seat. The State Security is informed about the whole operation and tries to catch the foreign agents.

An employee of the funeral home Pleticha calls his superior. He overhears that he is supposed to buy a wedding gift and deliver it to his boss's relatives. He therefore sets off to the given address to organize the funeral. When the mistake is explained, Pleticha, in return for the entertainment, performs dances and songs of various nations for the wedding guests. One of the guests, grandfather Boleslav Hnipírdo, experienced a train collision near Vrňany on his way to Prague. Since he was not injured, he does not even want to ask for compensation. Pleticha takes advantage of this and goes to the railway headquarters with his leg bandaged. He pretends to be Hnipírdo and is questioned in detail about his journey. Thanks to his talkativeness, he reveals, among other things, that he jumped on a moving train, drove illegally, spat on the window and tore off the emergency brake...

Vlasta Burian, as a stowaway, disrupts the disciplined operation of a railway station. Mr. Ťopka gives the impression of a gentleman, somewhat Chaplin-like. He makes a living by doing odd jobs, for which he exclusively rides the train as a stowaway. During one of his trips, he meets the feared railway inspector general Kokrhel. At a small station, he manages to get out and change into the stationmaster's uniform. However, he cannot avoid meeting Inspector Kokrhel...

A tragicomic story about the "hug" that all the characters long for, especially sociologist Oskar, an indecisive loser whose daily bizarre encounters with old people in nursing homes lead to feelings of futility, emptiness, and loss of vital energy, which reinforce his refusal to bring a child into this meaningless world. However, his wife's desire for motherhood grows.

Puppet adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale.

An unconventionally seen story from the period of the Slovak National Uprising will especially interest you with the character of the village lad and brawler Vince Kucek, played by Ivan Romančík. Hours and hours spent in the pub, riots with friends, scenes of jealousy towards his old rival Petr Chuťek, now a partisan commander, hostile memories of the strict teacher Machoň – all this fills the seemingly carefree days of the self-confident farmer, father of two small children, husband of the faithful, devoted Eva. However, the situation in the village is getting worse. Some of the men go to fight in the mountains, but the stubborn Kucek refuses to go with them.

Pavel Čamrda works as a clerk at an administrative bureau in Malá Strana. One day as he is listening to wandering minstrels he falls in love at first sight with a charming girl in the crowd. The superior at the bureau, counsel Švarc, takes ill and Čamrda brings him to his home the official papers for him to sign. What a surprise he has when he discovers that the girl who has smitten him is the counsel's daughter Viktorka. The counsel is ill for a long spell and the entire family becomes used to Čamrda's visits.

Cyril Dadák (Václav Postránecký), a TV reporter falls in love at first sight with a young engineer Milena (Jaroslava Obermaierová) while he makes a reportage in a chemical factory. Milena has been dating for several years with a test driver Pavel (Rudolf Jelínek), however when she meets Cyril she feels that he might be the Mr Right. She accepts Cyril's invitation for a date and she spends a night with him. In the morning she finds in her flat Pavel. She wants to explain to him everything but Pavel makes coffee with a smile and gives her back the keys from the flat.

The most important silent film by director Martin Frič. Poet Vitezslav Nezval did scenographic modifications to the original story by Václav Wasserman. Film producer Jaroslav Stransky didn’t witness premier; because of fear of financial collapse, he killed himself.

A short documentary film about the role of mathematics in society and industry, including the emerging field of computer technology.

František Procházka was retired early because his soldiers sang a forbidden song about a c. and k. field marshal. Since he is a soldier in body and soul and his request for reactivation is rejected, he decides to visit his nephew Rudi. Upon arrival, he finds the uniform of the secretly expected field marshal in his nephew's room and, after putting it on and walking through the corridors of the garrison in it, he has no choice but to complete the entire play to the end. With his performance, he helps his nephew to get married, convicts the wanted spy and is eventually promoted to the real marshal and called back into service.

A television film based on a novella "Zhanobená krv" ("Dishonored Blood") by František Švantner.

Two friends are living in Verona, Valentino and Proteo. Proteo professes his love to the charming Julia, who, after an initial misunderstanding, reciprocates his feelings. Valentino mocks his infatuation, but not for long. He leaves for Milan, where he falls in love with Silvia, the duke's daughter.

It is 1920, political unrest is growing in Prague and the Social Democrats are about to betray their historic mission by prioritising their own selfish interests instead of those of the working class. An extortionist scandal falls on the Social Democratic deputy Jandák, forcing him to renounce his convictions. Under these circumstances, the seriously ill Hungarian revolutionary Kerekes, who had to flee his homeland, is hiding in Prague...

The story of a young, university-qualified agronomist Tomáš Rajecký and his humanly complicated opponent, Viliam Kubica, who has been tempered and hardened by years of practice and is the chief agronomist of the unified farmers' cooperative in Machov, shows how their - initially almost generational - struggle gradually turns into productive cooperation in the interest of achieving a common goal after many minor and major clashes and conflicts.

The biographical film about the prematurely deceased violin virtuoso Josef Slavík takes place entirely like a haunting dream, in the mind of a feverish artist who remembers how he amazed Paganini himself with his playing.

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 brilliant dialogue between the aging Spanish ambassador and the widowed Maria of Pernštejn, born Manriquez de Lara. The ambassador tries to moralize the young widow and mitigate any unpleasant consequences of her behavior. After all, it is really not appropriate for a Catholic noblewoman, and a Spanish one at that. And the young widow is not only charming, but also quick-tongued.

An escaped inmate of a mental home, Franz Moose, has been found shot dead in the forest. In the course of their investigation, District Commander Havel (Jirí Adamíra) and Lieutenant Mares (Miroslav Zounar) slowly work their way through the complicated case. Havel learns from the employees' testimonies that Moose was facing trial for war crimes before he was finally sent to the hospital. There he shared his room with Kozdera, spent his time painting, and made several attempts to escape. Havel wants to interrogate Kozdera but the unfortunate patient gets killed before he can do so.

In the village cemetery, the funeral of a married couple - victims of a car crash - is ending. The relatives unscrupulously take away the facilities of the dead people's little cottage, totally ignorant of the fate of eight-year old Ruda, whom the childless couple took from a children's home and adopted. Fortunately, an elderly lonesome uncle named Tony remains in the empty cottage and decides to take care of the boy, nicknamed Münchie after Baron Münchhausen for his wild imagination.

A fairy-tale about knight honour, punished evil and tender love. Three royal brothers are put to the test in the fight with the king of the underworld in order to save captured princess, Láskykvet.

The story takes place in the Czech-German border region in 1938. The hero Tomás Jakl marries but the marriage is not very lucky and falls apart. His German friend forced him to enter the Nazi party.

A television adaptation of the successful 1961 Semafor Theatre performance of the same name. The Zuzana who listens to songs from a tape recorder and meditates on them is Zuzana Stivínová. The songs by Jiří Suchý and Jiří Šlitr, which were performed by the theatre stars of the time, became hits and are still sung today. Who doesn't know "Aria of the Moon", "Little Kitten", "Na konče seděla kočka", "Ach, ta láska nebeská", "Zuzana" and many others.

The work of actors on a stage makes a dreamlike parallelism between artistic immagination and the concreteness of everyday life. Tribute to Prague's Divadlo na zàbradlì, theater that has been a point of reference for Theater of the Absurd in Czechoslovakia in Sixties

The captain of the Prague shipping company, Adam Korkorán, lives his dreams of commanding ocean liners, even though in reality he only sails a small steamer on the Vltava River. The company's management still has problems with him, so when Korkorán refuses to retire, they at least send him to a spa. However, at the train station in Poděbrady, a servant from the most expensive spa hotel accidentally takes away his suitcase with the luggage of a rich lady. As a result, Korkorán is mistaken for a corvette captain and a rich man. Dazzled by the luxury, Korkorán befriends a retired admiral and begins to play a game with the spa guests and himself. He is even declared the most popular guest of the season. When he runs out of money, he writes to his housekeeper to send him all his savings. The horrified woman decides to go to Korkorán, and the truth comes out...

The story takes place in Italy, a country where terrorism and kidnappings are almost daily occurrences. Rampant banditry, injustice, coercion, and ultimately hopelessness stem from political events. Sunny Italy is no longer just a place of ancient monuments and tables laden with fine wine. Now it is primarily a place of ever-deepening social and political divisions.

Young bricklayers Franta Doubrav and his friend Béla meet two girls, Mařka and Vlasta, on their way back from a friend's wedding, but they only manage to call them by their name and the construction site they are currently working on. Imagine their surprise when they discover that Mařka is a trained bricklayer who has joined Franta's father's work crew, where she proposes a new way of working that will help catch up on the construction delays. As a young girl, however, she must first deal with the distrust of the older and more experienced bricklayers.

On this naive and awkwardly narrated fairy tale it is remarkable that it also established the tradition of fairy tale stories in Slovakia. A certain refinement is the framing of the whole story with a puppet show that moves into the played scenes. The film carries out a folk tale of a stupid castle lord who lives in a ruined castle, a fraudulent painter and a lazy shepherd.

A television production of a comedy by Slovak playwright Ferek Urbánek about the love of Adam Brezovský and the beautiful Evuška from Kamenný mlyn, about old angers and misunderstandings with folk songs and dances.

One busy day for a busy woman: worrying about children, the responsible work of a nurse in the centre and housework. In the evening, her husband is due back after a long time.