Sun, Hay and Strawberries

Zdeněk Troška shot two films in 1983: school comedy Bota jménem Melichar (Melichar the Boot) and village comedy Slunce, seno, jahody (Sun, Hay and Strawberries). The latter picture paved the way for the most popular titles in the filmography of the young debuting filmmaker: sequels Slunce, seno a pár facek (Sun, Hay and Slaps, 1989) and Slunce, seno, erotika (Sun, Hay and Erotic, 1991), and the Kameňák (Bad Joke, 2003-2005) and Babovřesky (Old Hag’s Yells, 2013-2015) trilogies. The first part of the Sun, Hay… series, set in the South Bohemian village of Hoštice, presents the fictional, idyllic world of a Czech village created by Troška and screenwriter Petr Markov. An agricultural college student, Šimon Plánička, arrives at the local JZD farming cooperative to put to the test his theory that a cow’s milk yield is linked to the animal’s cultural environment. While he succeeds in his experiment with the vicar Otík’s cow, the bovines in the cooperative fail to respond to the music played to them. Meanwhile, suspicions arise that Šimon is the son of the regional agricultural administration’s chairman. Blažena Škopková, daughter of the research student’s landlady, is tasked with finding out, but her efforts only trigger jealousy in her boyfriend Venca… Troška’s Hoštice is a village of oddball characters that fit in well with the tradition of popular comedies enhanced by the “carefree” period of the summer holidays. Energetic mother Škopková, Otík who has elevated spying on neighbours to a divine mission, prim but musical school director Ms. Hubičková, the infantile grandmother spending all her days in a bed on wheels outside the house, and tireless informer Keliška – they are just some of the characters whose jovial words long ago made it into public banter. In this first part of the series centred on the village of Hoštice, Troška proves himself a truly spontaneous narrator of humorous tales, with a talent for creating a genuinely poetic atmosphere, something which experienced cameraman Josef Hanuš helps to evoke. These qualities unfortunately began to wane in the sequels, unlike the director’s ability to assemble and harmonise actors and non-actors who often went on to complete further collaborations with the director in later pictures. Examples of this are experienced actress Helena Růžičková and Pavel Kikinčuk, who debuted in the role of Šimon and became an integral part of the later Old Hag’s Yells series.