We Three and the Dog from Fivedogs

Psychological motion pictures with very young actors assigned as the heroes were the forte of director Ota Koval. Two of his films explore issues surrounding the solidarity to be found in a children's gang. The movies in question are the World War I-era family film set in Pilsen, Družina Černého pera (The Black Feather Group, 1973), and My tři a pes z Pětipes (We Three and the Dog from Fivedogs), an adaptation of Václav Čtvrtek’s book from 1971. This holiday picture, also released in 1971, follows the adventures of Tonda, a boy from Prague. He makes friends with local children in Pětipsy (which translates as “Fivedogs”) while staying with acquaintances, and also becomes close with classmate Ruda, whom everybody thinks of as something of a bighead. Together the little heroes attempt some night fishing aimed at catching a local legend – a giant eel that always proves elusive. Jiří Kúkol and Robert Krásný are terrific as Tonda and Ruda, respectively. Director Koval also gave one of the smaller roles to Viktorie Čermáková, the girl that plays the title role in his 1970 debut Lucie a zázraky (Lucy and Miracles). She also appears in The Black Feather Group.