Summary
In 1973, Stanislav Rudolf, a beloved novelist for many young female readers, undertook his first screenwriting assignment. During the 1970s and 80s, his books served to inspire countless Czechoslovak films, for example Metráček (Little Fatty, 1971) and Kopretiny pro zámeckou paní (Marguerites For the Lady of the Castle, 1981). Similarly to most of Rudolf’s works, the main character in this summer holiday story is an adolescent girl. Fifteen-year-old schoolgirl Jana (Milada Vnuková) meets Jindra at the swimming pool. But she is then forced to go to a Pioneer (the socialist era term for “scout”) camp, where thanks to her painful separation from Jindra, she refuses to partake in any of the camp’s activities. Her behaviour sees Jana face potential expulsion. But in the end, she realises that the Pioneer leader and other youngsters are trying to revive her spirits. This light-hearted film from director Jiří Hanibal evokes a carefree summer atmosphere, which, in retrospect can evoke a sense of nostalgia for the (perhaps non-existent) idealised “good old days”.
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