Also Directed by Karel Kachyňa
Adam is a young farmer. As a child, fleeing the bleak reality of his mother's life as a prostitute, he tumbled from a mountain and was mentally injured. Years later, his mother is dying, so Adam sells their only cow to pay for medicine. Rosa, a beautiful young maid, fleeing the sexual exploitation of a wealthy butcher, climbs up to join them on their remote farm and dares to become part of Adam's world. A cycle of life begins again, in a remote turn-of-the-century village tied to the land and its animals.
Based on an autobiographical novella by Ivan Olbracht, the film tells the story of Hanele Safarová, who grows up just after the First World War in a little Ruthenian schtetl which, in true Hassidic fashion, awaits the arrival of the Messiah. But Hanele decides to follow the Zionists instead. She moves to the city to prepare for her departure to the Promised Land, where she meets a successful businessman named Ivo Karadzic, who has renounced Judaism to become a free-thinker. Their love for each other doesn’t only drive Hanele’s parents to distraction, it also threatens to destroy the entire community in the schetl.
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.
Psychological study of country girl Jitka and her blossoming love for an older man afraid of her youth and spontaneity.
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…
A sad story about love between Czech boy and German girl during 1944.
Set in Prague during the years leading up to World War II, this family saga tells the story of a cobbler named Vincenc Bursik (Vladimir Mensik), who uproots his clan from the country to the city, only to suffer the loss of his wife and the failure of his shoe business within months. When his daughter moves away to go live with a wealthy businessman as his mistress, Vincenc is left to take care of his two sons, who spend their days in a secret garden vying for the affections of a teenage girl.
A story about young girl Hanka who doesn't have parents and is forced to spend most of her time in a hospital bed.
