Synopsis
67-year old Hana is the good soul of her family. Every week her sons come over with their wives and children for their family dinner. It is a tradition not to be changed. Selfless, Hana takes care of the little Ivánek. She also supports her other son with money everytime he asks for it – and he asks a lot. A warmhearted yet modest person, Hana continues to live alone in the old family house without changing a thing ever since her husband died a few years ago. She might need a helping hand but both her sons are too busy and too selfish to see it. One day, while Hana is looking for Ivánek who sneaked out, she finds a man, Broňa, floating at the riverside, unable to move. She jumps in and helps him to get out of the icy water. Hana gets to know his elderly friends and suddenly she is included in a new social circle. Light-hearted Broňa, who lives in an old camper bus near the river, inspires Hana’s lust for life. They become lovers, but when she introduces him to her sons, the whole family is shocked. In a series of events and dark secrets, Hana has to stand up and start changing her life.
COUNTRY
CZECH REPUBLIC, SLOVAKIA, FRANCE
PRODUCER
PAVEL STRNAD
PETR OUKROPEC
GENRE
COMEDY, DRAMA
CO-PRODUCER
ARTILERIA, WHY NOT PRODUCTION
WITH THE SUPPORT OF STATE CINEMATOGRAPHY FUND
RELEASE DATE
23. 02. 2017
SCREENING FORMATS
DCP, HD Files
RUNTIME
106 min
Trailer & Photogallery
Cast & Crew
DIRECTOR AND WRITER
BOHDAN SLÁMA
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
DIVIŠ MAREK
EDITOR
JAN DAŇHEL
CAST
ZUZANA KRONEROVÁ, PAVEL NOVÝ, DANIEL VÍZEK, VÁCLAV NEUŽIL, MAREK DANIEL, TATIANA VILHELMOVÁ, PETRA ŠPALKOVÁ, ALENA MIHULOVÁ, MARIE LUDVÍKOVÁ, LUBOŠ VESELÝ
MUSIC
MARDI, PETR SPÁLENÝ
SOUND DESIGNER
MAREK POLEDNA
About the film
The central character of all my films is a contemporary family. I consider a family solidarity a basic prerequisite for a fulfilment of human existence. If this basic solidarity is in any way disrupted, it always represents a powerful dramatic motif for me and I try to work it into a story. This film is told from the point of view of Hana, a mother of two adult sons. Her sons
Ivan and Petr have never actually grown up to be adults, they act like two childish selfish creatures who are used to treat their mother like an object of a daily consumption.
Increasing childishness, selfishness and narcissism in today‘s society are key themes for me. Unwillingness to grow up, unwillingness to accept the responsibility for one‘s surroundings, devastation of natural human relationships and emotional attachments result in a loss of an authenticity of life, in its crippling and dehumanization. If any of my characters takes even the smallest step towards adulthood, for me it will represent a huge story.
The winter swimmers club is a community of people who like each other. They share the urge to surpass themselves, every time they go into the cold water it hurts and they are used to cheering each other up even though during competitions they are rivals. There is a lawyer as well as a bricklayer, a doctor as well as an ordinary shop assistant, the cold water wipes away all the differences, in the water everyone is equally vulnerable and equally powerful at the same time.
Water is a basic life-giving element. Immersing in cold water is the basis of a purging ritual in all cultures. An image of a fragile human body swimming in the cold element brings out a hope.