Summary
Director Milan Muchna adds to the popular 1970s and 80s teenage comedy sub-genre with this 1981 tale of an apprentice bricklayer who is having problems in his love life. Matěj Hůrka is an ordinary young provincial man, who falls in love with the distant Barča. Learning the dos and don’ts of romance only lands poor Matěj in more trouble. The story carries distant echoes of the more famous Ostře sledované vlaky (Closely Watched Trains, 1966), as well as the Czech films of director Miloš Forman. Ivan Weisner, the actor of choice for director Muchna, takes the lead role in this film. Weisner appeared previously in Muchna’s teenage comedy Hon na kočku (Chasing the Cat, 1979) and had a smaller role in his military comedy Zelená léta (The Green Years, 1985). Muchna’s nod to the Czechoslovak New Wave era is underscored by his choice of Milada Ježková in the role of Matěj’s grandmother (the actress appeared in both Closely Watched Trains and Lásky jedné plavovlásky ( Loves of a Blonde, 1965).
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