Kristian

This tragicomedy from 1939, directed by Martin Frič, is among the most popular Czech films of all time. The reason behind this is the intriguing protagonist – Alois Novák, the seemingly banal married office clerk. Novák works in a travel agency, but once a month he spends an evening in the luxurious Orient Bar playing the seducer Kristian, always to disappear for ever at the key moment when his enticed female prey is about to fall for his charms. Alois/Kristian has become an integral part of Czech popculture and one iconic depiction of the country’s national character. The film was inspired by a play from 1936 by French author Yvan Noé – in the Czech staging of this play, the part of the beauty who refuses to be left behind by Kristian is played by Nataša Gollová. In Frič’s outstanding film, on the other hand, Gollová is given the part of Mařenka, the principal character’s diffident wife. The mondaine but somewhat embittered Zuzana is performed by Adina Mandlová, while an ideal rendering of Alois/Kristian is given by Oldřich Nový.