On the Contrary, He Is Great!

Radovan Urban, 1987

Film at Filmový přehled

Summary

In her first leading role, Lucie Benešová plays Svatka, a 13-year-old girl who moves into a new house in the Křivoklát region with her parents in 1951. Succumbing to peer pressure and official propaganda, she joins the Pioneer Youth Organisation, but has to keep it secret lest her conservative, bourgeois parents find out. Childhood friendships are disrupted by enmity between various parents, generated by class strife of the collectivisation era. Honza (René Brunč), the son of the communist chairman of the local National Committee, learns this firsthand when his best friend Karel (Jiří Petr) is shunned as the son of a “kulak” (a comparatively wealthy landowning peasant). Meanwhile, Svatka’s father learns he is about to be arrested for “illegal activities” and decides to leave the country… As director Radovan Urban’s first feature film, this 1987 teen movie presents an extremely one-sided and biased view of history that almost calls for a contemporary remake that would offer an alternate perspective.
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Film data

About a film

Production year 1987
Countries Czechoslovakia
Categories film
Genres children
Form feature
Duration 85 min
Director Radovan Urban
Cast Lucie Benešová, René Brunč, Jiří Petr, Oldřich Navrátil, Miloš Vávra, Jan Vlasák
Director of photography Martin Benoni
Screenplay Vojtěch Vacke, Radovan Urban
Editor Jan Chaloupek
Production designer Karel Černý
Music Martin Kratochvíl
Sound designer Alexandr Vrbata