Summary
Two books penned by writer Karel Misař proved attractive to Czech filmmakers in search of appealing subject matter – the novel Pasťák (The Borstal) was adapted for the screen by Hynek Bočan in 1968, while Periferie (The Periphery) was cinematised in 1982 by Július Matula as Poslední vlak (The Last Train). While Bočan’s raw charge against the lack of liberty lost its battle with the censorship apparatus, Matula’s feature went into the display window of state cinematography. The protagonist – the penurious young man František Šandera – graduates from college against all the odds. But instead of taking a fine position at the faculty, he dreams of arduous labour in a north Bohemian industrial plant. František is proving his loyalty to the ethics of socialism by refusing to desecrate his trueborn proletarian heritage… Vladimír Dlouhý stars in this feature which serves as an interesting document of the times. Simona Vrbická plays the part of the hero’s honest, hardworking girlfriend.
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