Movies by Karel Kachyňa
Horká zima
Sugar House
In the final days of the Second World War in 1945 Frantisek Pribyl is killed during a shoot-out with the Germans. After the funeral, the widow (Jana Svandová) and her two young sons Martin and Ondra move to her deceased husband's native village at the foot of the Kralický Snezník mountains. Life in the borderlands is far from easy for the lonely woman. The village is almost deserted, food supplies are delayed; the Werwolf (Nazi guerrilla squads) are hiding in the mountains, and shooting is heard from time to time. The elder son Ondra (Michal...
Slingboy
A young Czech boy is freed from a concentration camp and now is working for the army against the Germans.
The Last Butterfly
Stage mime Antoine Moreau is compelled by the Gestapo to put on a performance for the children of Terezin, a "model" concentration camp, to convince the Red Cross observers that the camp is truly what it seems. Reluctant at first, Moreau slowly learns the true nature of the camp, including the meaning of the "transports" on which people leave. With a world-class orchestra (made up of people interned in the camp) and a cast of children, Moreau stages a show to end all shows.
It’s Not Always Cloudy
Everything Ends Tonight
Everything Ends Tonight is a Czech movie.
Pavlínka
Where, Gentlemen, Where Are You Going?
A story of Jan Kolvara, forty years old architect, who is a little bit too obsessed with women in his life.
The Nun's Night
A dark fable set in an early 1950s Czech village, a time of Soviet-style socialism which saw the implementation of collectivized agriculture and the mass closure of monasteries and convents.
Vertigo
Psychological study of country girl Jitka and her blossoming love for an older man afraid of her youth and spontaneity.
Velký případ malého detektiva a policejního psa Kykýna
Kožené slunce
As the name suggests, the movie is about football. It is not about big league soccer, making huge money. It is about football, which lives just from village fans enthusiasm, from the enthusiasm of fathers and their sons and club officials. And yet on this battlefield, where the pub and silent household alternates, it is often about everything: friends, family, the meaning of life. It is about playing fair, but also about fighting below the belt. It is about winning, but also about falling into the abyss of the league wilderness.
Škaredá dědina
Neobyčejná léta
Tenkrát o vánocích
Suffering
This is an engaging drama by director Karel Kachyna about the growing pains of a young teen (Jorga Kotrbova) and the hardships of a noble steed mistreated by a cruel neighboring farmer. The teen is having a hard time figuring out adult modes of behavior, and at the same time her heart goes out to the horse that is suffering under the treatment of the farmer next door to her family. As the teen adopts the horse as a friend, some clarification will be sure to come on the meaning of adulthood and the benefits of compassion.
Long Live the Republic
Oldrich is the runt of his village, beaten by his father, bullied by the other boys. But he has imagination on his side, and a wiry toughness they can’t defeat. The village is in turmoil, because the Nazi occupiers have just retreated and the Red Army is advancing. Oldrich dodges amid the mayhem and panic, taking his share of blows but always managing to stay one step ahead. Beautifully shot and darkly ironic, Karel Kachyna’s forgotten masterpiece jumbles reality, memory and fantasy to capture the intensity and confusion of childhood in a wa...
Jumping Over Puddles
This Czechoslovakian children’s film takes place during the last days of the Austro-Hungarian empire. The young son of a horse trainer loves nothing more than riding his horse, until he is stricken by polio…
Sestricky
Stará čínská opera