Summary
In 1965, Jaromíra Kolárová penned an autobiographical novel about the political show trials of the 1950s. Director Jiří Svoboda made the decision to adapt the book even before 1989. Due to production delays, the final film was not released until 1990. The end product is a quintessential Czechoslovak feature film from the Velvet Revolution era, in which even prior to the fall of the former regime, state oversight of ideological trends within domestic cinematography was easing. The protagonist of the piece, adapted for the screen by Václav Šašek, is lawyer Steiner-Kamenický, who is accused of conspiring against the state. Jan’s friend, the communist Mrázek, suffers a similar fate. A major trial is prepared in which the pair will join several other innocents and be found guilty, whether they buckle under the pressure of the trumped-up charges or not. The families of the accused also suffer considerable persecution. This exalted story benefits from convincing performances by Jiří Bartoška, Jaromír Hanzlík and Marta Vančurová.
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