Town of My Hopes

The censor was not slow in locking the 1969 filmed parable Den sedmý, osmá noc (The Seventh Day, the Eight Night, 1969) in his “vault”. Following this setback, Jan Kačer, who co-directed the drama-mystery motion picture with Evald Schorm, attempted to return to making films twice during the 1970s, each time in the director’s role. There was his intimate psychological film Jsem nebe (I Am Heaven) in 1970 and next came his 1978 drama Město mé naděje (The Town of My Hopes), a story that takes place among the supposed “builders” of a better future. Initially, Schorm was to collaborate with Kačer in making the film. The Town of My Hopes, eventually produced at Gottwadov Film Studios, presents the story of highly experienced engineer Rataj (Drahomír Ožana). Rataj is entrusted with an atomic programme at a metallurgy and engineering enterprise. The demanding and exhausting work eventually claims the specialist’s life and he is succeeded by his son Ondřej (Jiří Čapka) who continues with the mission. This psychological film exploring a “desirable” theme failed to make a desirable mark in Czechoslovak cinema history. Kačer never again ventured beyond theatre and television.