Summary
Following his feature-film debut Drsná planina (Rough Life at Planina, 1979), about the difficult lives of Czechoslovak border guards, writer-director Jaroslav Soukup threw himself into a romantic drama bringing to life the personality and works of writer Jakub Arbes (1840–1914). The film tells the story of the young journalist Arbes who partakes in an unjust trial against three demonstrating workers. At the same time, he joins the oddball Xaverius in studying an altarpiece, which is supposed to point to great fortunes. In Romaneto (Novelette, 1980), the Czech writer and journalist is presented as a progressive author, but also as the creator of dark, compelling works, with his Svatý Xaverius (Saint Xaverius, 1873) serving as a template. This stylised film sees Viktor Preiss in the lead role. Xavier is portrayed by Pavel Pavlovský. To maximise authenticity, Soukup filmed in various interiors within Prague’s Old Town.
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