Strong Win

Real events that took place in 1986 provided the material for director Petr Šícha’s feature-film debut four years later. In Silnější než já (The Strong Win, 1990), Prague crime investigators Šárka and Kraft (Karel Roden and Jiří Ornest) hunt in vain for a serial killer targeting young women. Young tutor Táňa, who has just started working at a boarding school for apprentices, experiences two attacks by an unknown assailant. The circle of suspects is thus narrowed down to the apprentices, who due to the soft approach of the school director are inclined to criminal behaviour. One of the trainees is the emotionally disturbed Richard, who is traumatised by haunting experiences he suffered during his childhood. Classmates intend to lynch him, but the investigators intervene as they seek to bring him to justice. The 19-year-old Karel Zíma made his debut in the role of the assailant. Director Šícha would much later underline his abilities in producing commercially successful films by shooting Bastardi (The Bastards, 2010), Školní výlet (School Trip, 2012) and Obchodníci (The Peddlers, 2013).