Summary
In 1982, Štěpán Skalský filmed this tragicomedy. It serves as an exception for a director whose filmography is otherwise oriented towards more serious projects. In the sights of Skalský and screenwriter Rudolf Ráž we find one unavoidable component of the tense “normalisation” era – divorce. The film benefits from an outstanding performance by Vladimír Menšík as old roofer Arnošt Provazník – the irascible father of the film’s protagonist Pavla, who is seeking a radical solution to her sense of alienation from husband Hynek. The reason for this marital disharmony is Hynek’s fastidious and meddlesome mother, who loathes her own daughter-in-law. Hynek decides to conceal the impending divorce from his short-tempered father-in-law. But then the young man learns that Arnošt’s marriage is also on the rocks due to the husband’s infidelity. Jan Čenský and Veronika Žilková play the troubled young couple. Blanka Bohdanová offers a persuasive performance as Hynek’s mother.
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