Summary
Few Czech films released prior to the 1989 revolution concerned themselves with the topic of the Roma. One of the few that did was crime thriller Radikální řez (A Radical Cut, 1983), inspired by Josef Klíma’s 1983 novel. The screenwriter and director Dušan Klein chose a Roma community primarily to provide a colourful background for a story about passions stirred by a beautiful Roman girl Naha (Monika Žigová) in her two half-brothers of contrasting characters. The half-siblings, Tom and Pavel, are incidentally the sons of district planner Ruml (Ilja Racek) who intends to demolish the Roma’s homes and use the land for a modern housing estate. When Tom is murdered, the inhabitants of the dwellings become prime suspects. However, the investigators, one of whom is of Roma descent, find the culprit outside the community… Marián Labuda stars as Roma baron Tancoš in a feature that presents a contemporarily conditioned perspective on the Roma.
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