Summary
Science fiction works written by Josef Nesvadba have been the driving force behind the creation of numerous Czech films. What's more, the author would often get involved in the screenwriting for a movie. Howevr, unlike Tarzanova smrt (Tarzan’s Death, 1962), Blbec z Xeenemünde (The Idiot from Xeenemünde, 1962) and Ztracená tvář (The Lost Face, 1965), Zítra vstanu a opařím se čajem (I’ll Get Up and Scald Myself with Tea Tomorrow, 1977) differs in that its screenplay was written by Jindřich Polák and Miloš Macourek, based on Nesvadba’s short story. The plot takes place in a future where travelling back and forth in time is a commonplace tourist entertainment. However, a trio of Nazi sympathisers decide to travel back to 1944 in order to change the course of history by helping Hitler win the war with the use of a stolen thermonuclear bomb. In an unexpected twist, the time machine operator Karel Bureš chokes on his breakfast roll and is replaced by his virtuous twin brother Jan, a man who is ignorant of the purpose of the mission and not entirely in favour of the journey. Other passengers include an American married couple and flight attendant Helena. Although the mission fails, Jan must return to the past twice again to put a definitive end to the Nazi trio’s plans. As the story unfolds through a number of time paradoxes and mistaken identities, doubles of various characters appear… The cleverly built narrative uses a playful, comic plot to present an ambitious warning to audiences, something typical of Nesvadba’s writing. Zítra vstanu a opařím se čajem is above all a successful combination of Macourek’s screenwriting inventiveness and Polák’s lightness of directing. Cameraman Jan Kališ, who had previously collaborated with Polák in the making of the comedy Klaun Ferdinand a raketa (Clown Ferdinand and the Rocket, 1962) and the legendary science fiction film Ikarie XB 1 (Voyage to the End of the Universe, 1963), effectively tackles the need to evoke different time frames as well as the special effects side of the feature. The success of this story of parallel histories also stems in no small part from its cast. The lead dual role was delivered by Petr Kostka while popular performers of “good” characters – Vlastimil Brodský, Jiří Sovák and Vladimír Menšík – appear here as the three Nazis. Otto Šimánek, well-known as Pan Tau (Tau) in Polák’s eponymous television series, plays one of the American tourists.
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