Summary
Intelligent movies about youth, which were critically aware of the socialist reality, were a strong suit of director Jiří Smyczek in the 1980s. Following his 1979 debut Housata (Goslings), set in a girls’ college boardinghouse, Smyczek focused on boys in his tragicomedies Jen si tak trochu písknout (Just to Whistle a Bit, 1980) and Jako zajíci (Like Rabbits, 1981). Both films present an outwardly relaxed “summery” atmosphere. In Like Rabbits, sensitive adolescent Petr (Štěpán Kment) is a new arrival at a holiday village by Slapy reservoir. There, he gets to know a local bunch of lads and makes friends with the most sympathetic boy, the maverick Michal (Michal Dlouhý). Michal wagers with his father that he could survive for a week in the woods without any help from anybody. Just as occurs with adults, the youngsters begin to change under the strain of various pressures. Their co-existence together over the holidays becomes a discreet reflection of an intolerant society.
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