Summary
In the 1980s the metropolis of Prague provided inspiration for a number of mildly socially critical pictures. Alongside the edgier Bony a klid (Big Money, 1987) by director Vít Olmer, Jaroslav Soukup also took on the crime genre in 1984. Láska z pasáže (Love from the Arcade) is a classic tale of a young man on a downward spiral. The protagonist of the narrative – young window cleaner Pavel Kříž – dreams of easy money and from a small-time con artist is rapidly transformed into an accomplished tipster working for the thief Roby’s gang. This change brings the girl Jana into the teenager’s life but soon the loved-up protagonist finds himself vainly trying to protect her from his unscrupulous pals. The moralistic ending sees Pavel attempting to no avail to come to terms with the shadows of the past: a “deserved” tragic fate awaits him…Miroslav Vaic drew on dramatic material of his own as screenwriter. Vaic regularly collaborated with Soukup and had worked on the director’s debut short from the portmanteau film Boty plné vody (Shoes Full of Water, 1976). Within the framework of a genre story, Soukup succeeded in capturing the moral decrepitude that accompanied teenagers’ coming of age in the 1980s. Love from the Arcade is a film “about young people for young people” whose creation was supported by the socialist state. However, it is also a bitter testimony of life without a future. Pavel recognises that honest work will not deliver his expectations from life. That said, the loyalty of his dodgy pals is non-existent… The lead role was taken by Lukáš Vaculík, who Soukup had previously cast in his vocational school comedy Vítr v kapse (Wind in the Pocket, 1982). The blonde idol of his day appeared in that picture alongside Sagvan Tofi, as he did in other Soukup films Kamarád do deště (A Good Pal, 1988) and Kamarád do deště II – Příběh z Brooklynu (Good Pal II – Story from Brooklyn, 1992). Vaculík also performed in the director’s costume drama Divoká srdce (Famous Duels, 1989). Tatiana Kulíšková, who played Jana, was in Soukup’s Discopříběh (Discostory, 1987).
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