Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Ondrej Vetchý | ... | Kvido's Father | |
Libuse Safránková | ... | Kvido's mother | |
Vladimír Javorský | ... | Sperk | |
Jan Zahalka | ... | Kvido (boy) | |
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Jakub Wehrenberg | ... | Kvido |
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Klára Botková | ... | Jaruska |
Jitka Jezková | ... | Jaruska | |
Vladimír Dlouhý | ... | Zvara | |
Vilma Cibulková | ... | Sperková | |
Miriam Kantorková | ... | Grandmother Vera | |
Kveta Fialová | ... | Grandmother Líba | |
Stanislav Zindulka | ... | Grandfather Josef | |
Otakar Brousek | ... | Grandfather Jirí | |
Viktor Preiss | ... | Playwriter Holub | |
Jirí Schmitzer | ... | Dr. Liehr |
The story of an ordinary family living in Czechoslovakia from around 1963 until the Velvet Revolution. Based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Michal Wiewegh.
I saw this film on TV pretty soon after it first came out and loved it. It was an insightful coming of age film, as well as a quirky but good depiction of the absurdities of life under communism in the then Czechoslovakia. The humour is a mix of the subtle and not so subtle, and the dramatic content is well handled. The acting is superb, with all cast members putting in a good effort and the leads absolutely smashing it. The film is funny, touching and ultimately uplifting. 10 stars, but for the problems with the DVD, which was a major disappointment.
It was hard to find the DVD, but I eventually found it on Amazon, advertised as having English subtitles. Unfortunately only the dialogue is subtitled, not the witty and interesting voice-over, so much of the film's charm is lost.