All My Compatriots (1969)

Various scenes in the life of a tight-knit community in Czechoslovakia exploring the human spirit in the backdrop of the political changes that they experience.

Director:

Vojtech Jasný

Writer:

Vojtech Jasný

Stars:

Vlastimil Brodský, Radoslav Brzobohatý, Vladimír Mensík

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vlastimil Brodský	...	Ocenás
Radoslav Brzobohatý	...	Frantisek
Vladimír Mensík	...	Jorka
Waldemar Matuska	...	Zásinek
Drahomíra Hofmanová	...	Merry Widow
Pavel Pavlovský	...	Bertin
Václav Babka	...	Franta Lampa
Josef Hlinomaz	...	Frajz
Karel Augusta	...	Joza Trna
Ilja Prachar	...	Plécmera (as I. Prachar)
Václav Lohniský	...	Zejvala (as V. Lohnisky)
Jirí Tomek	...	(as J. Tomek)
Vera Galatíková	...	Frantisek's wife (as V. Galatíková)
Helena Ruzicková	...	Bozka (as H. Ruzicková)
Oldrich Velen	...	Policeman (as O. Velen)

Storyline

Stories about seven friends in a small Moravian village following the socialization of Czechoslovakia in 1948, developing gradually into the story of Frantiek, the resister. The film offers some direct political criticism, particularly of the process of collectivizing agriculture. After the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, it was promptly banned.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

Czechoslovakia

Language:

Czech

Release Date:

4 April 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

All My Compatriots

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmové studio Barrandov

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

Due to his illness at the time of shooting, Jirí Sovák turned down the part of Zásinek, eventually played by Waldemar Matuska.

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Connections

Featured in Predcasná úmrtí: Nespoutaný zivel (2002)

User Reviews

A look back upon the Stalinisation of rural Czechoslovakia from the end of the Prague Spring

This may not be a good place to start to enjoy Czech film - there are more accessible New Wave films - but it is a very powerful film which should not be missed by anybody who has more than a passing familiarity with the country and its history. With actors such as Radoslav Brzobohatý, Vladimír Menšík, a young Jíří Kodet, and the ever-popular singer and actor Waldemar Matuška, the film has a first-rate cast. In Jaroslav Kučera, it had a great cinematographer. Jasný was by now an accomplished screenwriter and, the countryside of the Pardubice region was as beautiful a backdrop as the machinations of the early communist period and, in particularly, the collectivisation of agriculture, were a fascinating subject. Still, the excellence of the film was not a given. The structure, given in large part by alternating dramatic changes of the environment as the seasons change and those first years after the communist takeover roll on, is effective and well-paced and permits a continuity of tone and subject with certain more episodic elements. The plot, on the page, might come across as busy, but on the screen, there is plenty of breathing space, and room for exquisite shots of the countryside, of work, even of play. So too does the heroic refusal to compromise of one of the characters, František, which becomes of increasing importance as the film moves into the mid 1950s, do nothing to detract from the well-balanced portrayal of the various characters of the village, described and referred to by their silly nicknames from the opening scenes in the months after the war. The history and fates of these characters are handled deftly, often with a brevity and telling detail of a John Cheever story. Neither is the film as unremittingly brutal as others handling similar material, such as the excellent, and thematically similar Smuteční slavnost of the following year. Like that film, I hope to return to Všichni dobří rodáci many times yet, and am sure it will repay repeated viewing.