Catalogue of Czech Television Programmes
The story is based on the personal experiences of priest-turned-author Jakub Deml. Set in Czechoslovakia in the 1980s, the main character is Father Holý, a melancholy rebel who seeks peace of mind as a spiritual exile in a remote Czech village. He is surrounded by a handful of people of similar attitudes, including a sculptor the Communist regime refuses to acknowledge, and an ambulance driver who is actually Count Kinsky. The story pivots around Father Holý's efforts to save the local church: during his clashes with state and church bureaucracy he applies his characteristic humor, changing many situations into farce or sheer absurdity. The romantic twist to the story is the priest's love for a dying young woman, as well as the beauty of a decaying Baroque church and the picturesque, meditative atmosphere of the autumn landscape.
HD | 101' | © 1996
director(s): Vladimír Michálek
producer(s): Czech Television, Studio FÁMA 92
scriptwriter(s): M. Jelínek
director of photography: M. Duba
cast: B. Polívka, V. Žilková, P. Kavan, H. Pecha and others
rights available: TV
original language: Czech
subtitles available: English, German
other data: Festival Awards
Best Actor Bolek Polívka, Main Prize of the Ecumenical Jury to V. Michálek director, The Audience Prize - IFF Karlovy Vary 1997,
Special Mention - Religion Today, Trento 2003