Director: Jiri Menzel
Writer: Bohumil Hrabal (novel), Jiri Menzel (writer)
Starring: Ivan Barnev, Oldrich Kaiser, Julia Jentsch
Released: December 26, 2007
Rating: (M)
Runtime: 120 minutes
Websites:
Story: The film focuses on two parallel stories. The first follows the youthful exploits and gradual maturing of an ambitious little man before the War and during the German occupation when, in love and guided by stupidity rather than opportunism, he finds himself on the side of the occupying power. The second story, interlinked with the first, concerns only a short period in his later life when, after years in prison, he seeks peace and solitude in an abandoned German village whose inhabitants were expelled after the war. His peace is only briefly disturbed by the arrival of a young working-class woman. Her youth and vitality bring back memories of his amorous adventures as a young man.
Cast:
Ivan Barnev Jan Dite, younger
Oldrich Kaiser Jan Dite, older
Julia Jentsch Liza
Martin Huba Skrivanek
Marian Labuda Walden
Milan Lasica Professor
Josef Abrham Hotelier Brandejs
Jiri Labus Hotel Boss
Jaromir Dulava Waiter Karel
Pavel Novy General
Istvan Szabo Stock Marketeer
Tonya Graves Abyssinian Emperor
Rudolf Hrusinsky Tichota
Petr Ctvrtnicek Jiri Sestak