Catalogue of Czech Television Programmes
A fairy tale about many different forms of love and the power of forgiveness, containing a message which is very “up-to-date” and surprisingly relevant for the world of today: being different does not mean being inferior or worse than others. The beautiful but frivolous princess Liběna is captivated by a stranger wearing a mask, and lets him take her away to his underground realm. But when she sees his real, inhuman appearance, she derides his feelings, and is punished by being transformed into a living golden statue and can only resume her human form if someone falls in love with her as she is. Meanwhile in people’s world a son is born to fisherman Peter. But even before he was born, the fisherman promised him to a mysterious stranger in exchange for a good haul. When Radovid, the fisherman’s son, is eighteen, the stranger comes and leads him away to the underground realm of which he is the ruler. – Time passes at a different speed underground than it does in the world of people. The princess has not grown old, but the enchantment has changed her character. She falls sincerely in love with Radovid, and he with her. Their love is great and genuine, the other’s happiness is more important for them than their own. The ruler becomes convinced that Liběna has changed, gives her back her human form and sets her and Radovid free.
SD | 57' | © 2001
director(s): Moris Issa
producer(s): Czech Television
scriptwriter(s): Petr Janiš
director of photography: Martin Kubala
cast: Linda Rybová, David Matásek, Tomáš Měcháček, Simona Stašová, Ondřej Vetchý and others
rights available: TV, Video
original language: Czech
subtitles available: English