Summary
Director Zeno Dostál made this 1990 debut film at the age of 56. Adapted from his own novel entitled Lev (Leo), the story is inspired by the sign of the Zodiac. In Král kolonád (The King of Colonnades) the director – whose second and final film was the Jewish drama Golet v údolí (Golet in the Valley, 1995) – tells the story of the lead violinist in a Františkovy Lázně spa orchestra, and his relationship with the Jewish woman Róza. Their pre-war marriage is subject to the oppressions of the Nazi era. The man is unable to cope and becomes estranged from his wife and daughter, who both end up in a concentration camp. The devastated musician sinks into ever greater despair and alcoholism. Josef Novotný takes the leading role; director Dostál also cast the actor in his 1992 TV movie Váhy (Scales). Róza is played by Barbora Leichnerová, and secretary Valerie is performed by Ivana Chýlková. In this film, Zeno Dostál utilises largely unknown actors; the one exception is coffee shop owner Broda played by Vlastimil Brodský.
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