Jan Palach (film)
Jan Palach is a Czech biographical film directed by Robert Sedláček.[5] The film follows Jan Palach during 1968 and 1969 and shows final 6 months of his life.[6] The film premiered at Uherské Hradiště Summer Film School.[7]
Jan Palach | |
---|---|
Directed by | Robert Sedláček |
Produced by | Silvia Panáková, Erik Panák |
Written by | Eva Kantůrková |
Starring | Viktor Zavadil |
Music by | Michal Rataj |
Cinematography | Jan Šuster |
Edited by | Josef Krajbich |
Production company | |
Release date |
21 August 2018 (Czech republic)[2] |
Running time | 124 minutes |
Country | Czech Republic |
Language | Czech |
Budget | 45,400,000 CZK[3] |
Box office | 8,258,134 CZK[4] |
Plot
The film chronicles life of Jan Palach since childhood until his death in 1969.[8]
The film starts during Palach's childhood. Palach gets lost in the woods and wanders in snow while his family tries to find him. The film then cuts to 1967 when Palach goes on a student work to Kazakhstan. He befriends a young Russian who gets in trouble but Palach stands up for him against his superior. Palach then visits France along with his friends. He enjoys his time there until he but finds out about Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia which shocks him. Palach decides to return to Czechoslovakia. He hears about self-immolation of Ryszard Siwiec. Palach participates in a strike against invasion and tries to be active but is disappointed with passiveness of society. He eventually decides to self-immolate himself against the invasion. The film ends with a shot at his burnt face.[9]
Cast
- Viktor Zavadil as Jan Palach
- Zuzana Bydžovská as Libuše Palachová
- Denisa Barešová as Helenka
- Kristína Kanátová as Eva
- Michal Balcar as Jiří Palach
- Karel Jirák as Ladislav Žižka
- Jan Vondráček as Professor
- Jiří Zapletal as Josef Smrkovský
- Daniel Želatý as Jakub Schwarz Trojan
- Gérard Robert Gratadour
- Simone Hrášková
- Patrik Paušo
Production
The film was shot at Prague, Milovice or Pardubice Square which was used instead of Wenceslas Square. Filmmakers created scale model of Statue of Saint Wenceslas.[5][10] Self-immolation was shot with stuntman at Střešovice.[2] Scenes from Church were shot at Evangelical Church at Libiš that was attended by Palach. Jakub Schwarz Trojan was played by his colleague Daniel Želatý.
Release
The film premiered at Uherské Hradiště Summer Film School on 5 August 2018. It was distributed for cinemas on 21 August 2018.[11][12] The film was projected in 95 Czech cinemas during the first week after its release. It was attended by 13,129 people and grossed 1,900,000 CZK.[13]
Reception
The film received generally positive reviews from Czech critics. It holds 75% at Kinobox.cz.[14] The film was awarded for 6 Czech Film Critics' Awards.[15]
Accolades
Date of ceremony | Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | Czech Film Critics' Awards | Best Film | Won | ||
Best Director | Robert Sedláček | Nominated | |||
Best Screenplay | Eva Kantůrková | Nominated | |||
Best Actor | Viktor Zavadil | Nominated | |||
Best Actress | Zuzana Bydžovská | Nominated | |||
Innogy Award | Viktor Zavadil | Nominated | |||
Czech Lion Awards | Best Film | Nominated | [14] | ||
Best Director | Robert Sedláček | Nominated | |||
Best Screenplay | Eva Kantůrková | Nominated | |||
Best Actor in a Leading Role | Viktor Zavadil | Nominated | |||
Best Actress in a Leading Role | Zuzana Bydžovská | Nominated | |||
Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Jan Vondráček | Nominated | |||
Best Costume Design | Tomáš Chlud | Nominated | |||
Best Make up and Hairstyling | Jana Bílková | Nominated
References
External links
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