Outsider

During the 1970s “normalisation” era, director Zdeněk Sirový often turned to making escapist children’s films. However, even with these, he frequently managed to offer viewers above-average emotionally engaging material. That is very much the case with this unfairly forgotten drama from 1986, made at Gottwaldov Film Studios (today Zlín). The protagonist of the story – with genre and human qualities underscored by screenwriter Jiří Křižan – is 14-year-old Jožka. The horse-loving youngster is looking forward to joining a horse-rearing vocational school. However, a poor assessment from a (communist era) “personnel officer” forces Jožka to instead sign up to learn to become a tractor driver. Fortunately, the youngster doesn’t give up – he teams up with an outsider horse called Palisandr, and the pair set about proving their mettle to the world. Sirový successfully directs non-actor child star Robert Panc in the role of Jožek. Jiří Schmitzer debuts in the role of the mean instructor.