Summary
This 1981 story of a young rural teacher, directed by Vojtěch Trapl, is one of the most famous examples of 1980s “normalisation” era filmmaking. Trapl, a true functionary, exclusively geared his career towards producing stories espousing the virtues of the communist regime. His output includes Tobě hrana zvonit nebude (The Bell Will Not Toll for You, 1975) and Vítězný lid (The Victorious People, 1977). Velké přání, a final effort from Trapl, tells the story of teacher Jan Poncar, who undertakes the difficult task of trying to teach a group of sixth-graders in his native south Bohemian village of Doubravice. In the end, Poncar succeeds in engendering a thirst for knowledge in his pupils, convincing them to partake in special activity groups. His grateful pupils in turn support the teacher when he is accused of having paid insufficient attention at a point when somebody tossed a tomahawk in the school playground. The lesser-known actor František Skřípek takes the lead role.
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