Catalogue of Czech Television Programmes
A bittersweet comedy set in Prague about an aging bachelor saddled with a small boy from Russia. The story is set in the late 80s, the period just before the fall of Communism in Czechoslovakia. Jan Louka, a musician, works hard but most of his income goes to repairing his mother's small house. A friend comes up with a solution: at that time many Soviet women were willing to pay for a fake marriage. He agrees, but his 'wife' immediately emigrates to Germany, leaving behind her five-year-old son Kolya. At first Jan considers the situation a nightmare but his feelings change when slowly a warm relationship develops between man and boy. When the 'Velvet Revolution' allows the mother to return for her son, Jan realizes that what had been such a life-changing inconvenience was probably the most beautiful period of his life.
HD | 107' | © 1996
director(s): Jan Svěrák
producer(s): Czech Television, Biograf Jan Svěrák
scriptwriter(s): Zdeněk Svěrák
director of photography: V. Smutný
cast: Z. Svěrák, A. Chalimon, L. Šafránková, O. Vetchý, S. Zázvorková and others
rights available: for part of the territories only
original language: Czech
subtitles available: English
other data: Festival Awards
Grand Prix - Tokyo International Film Festival 1996
Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film 1997 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film 1997