Summary
During the 1960s, Czechoslovak detective films were a rather rare sight. This atmospheric 1967 drama from director Jiří Hanibal was an exception to the rule. Pavel Hejcman, a writer of crime and adventure novels, co-wrote the script with Hanibal. This intimately conceived snapshot maintains a slow pace. But the gripping tale of the hunt for the murderer of an escaped psychiatric patient – and a former Nazi war criminal to boot – continues to electrify audiences to this day with its well-constructed story and ominous atmosphere. The film’s authentic feel is also achieved thanks to its mix of non-actors and professional performers (the renowned Jiří Adamíra takes the lead role as Detective Havel). The trail of the craven offenders leads us back to a wartime past, and to the theft of rare paintings. But the unveiling of one of the perpetrators comes with a surprising twist.
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