Summary
Director Martin Frič was the first to shoot a film based on the novel Hordubal by Karel Čapek. His picture, Hordubalové (The Hordubals,1937), starred Jaroslav Vojta in the lead role and was made with the approval of the novel’s author. Screenwriter Václav Nývlt was next to try a cinematic adaptation in 1979. The lead role in this drama directed by Jaroslav Balík was performed by Soviet actor Anatoly Kuznetsov. The film’s main protagonist returns home after five years of toil in faraway America. However, Juraj Hordubal’s family and the neighbours in his native village have all become convinced that he has died while abroad. Hordubal’s wife Polana (Libuše Geprtová) has already paired up with farmhand Štěpán (Hungarian actor Sándor Oszter) and has no qualms about killing her lawful and seriously ill husband in order to vindicate her new life... Despite striving to present an authentic village atmosphere, Balík’s adaptation still left something to be desired when compared with the layered and richly detailed novel.
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