Václav Král

Dorota, a bad woman married the miller, out of sheer greed drives him to death. She then took the mill away from his son Peter and threw him out of the hime. Lucifer, who is known to rule in hell, sends out the devil Janek. He is supposed to fetch Dorota because the measure of her earthly sins is overflowing. But the devil himself can not handle this evil woman and flees to the military. There he meets Peter. By joining forces, they finally succeed in transporting the wicked Dorota to hell. Since then hell is hell. But for Peter, who is suddenly in possession of a magic mantle, begins a nice time, because strangely, the prince shows great interest in him.

In the Prague Old Town and the adjoining streets there is always plenty of life. Housewives shop, beggars arouse sympathy, the Salvation Army tries to put the godless on the road to salvation by hymns and sermons, and Ferdys Pistora hunts in the pockets of his fellow men and isn't even put off by the presence of an officer of the law. Ferdys sets off to burgle villa of the banker Rosenstok, but a fire breaks out in the house and Ferdys ends up saving the banker's two small children. For this he is celebrated as a hero and gets a place as an errand boy with the Rosenstoks. At home he is visited by representatives of the Salvation Army, Captain Kosterka and Terezka, with whom Ferdys instantly falls in love.

This movie is realistic and even crude, and maybe that is the reason, why it's so impressive. Instead of romantic (nearly melodramatic) scenes, incorporated to the Sverak's "Tmavomodry svet" (Dark Blue World) it offers stories from ordinary, cruel life of Czech pilots in Great Britain. And it's even more deeper. The final scene with two soldiers - Czech and German, which are not enemies more, when the both men are facing their destiny in despair... Some of the most haunting moments includes also story of soldier, which received serious face injury and now must try to reconcile himself... The main storyline follows the story of two young Czech pilots - Student (falling to an unhappy romance with British radio-operator) and Prcek, both excellently acted (by remarkable talents Jiri Bednar and Jiri Hrzan).