Tobruk (2008)

Set in the Libyan Desert in WW2 a battalion of Czech soldiers face the siege of Tobruk.

Director:

Václav Marhoul

Writers:

Václav Marhoul (screenplay), Stephen Crane (novel)

Stars:

Jan Meduna, Petr Vanek, Robert Nebrenský

4 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jan Meduna	...	Private Jiri Pospíchal
Petr Vanek	...	Private Jan Lieberman
Robert Nebrenský	...	Corporal Kohák
Michal Novotný	...	Private Ruzicka
Martin Nahálka	...	Sergeant Borný
Matús Krátky	...	Private Janický
Krystof Rímský	...	Private Kutina
Petr Lnenicka	...	Private Sajda
Andrej Polák	...	Private Dunda
Petr Stach	...	Private Dubálek
Radim Fiala	...	Lieutenant Halík
Matej Hádek	...	Redhead
Karel Klinovsky	...	Battalion Commander
Petr Halberstadt	...	Battalion Doctor
Petr Vrsek	...	Battalion Chaplain

Storyline

It is the story of Jiri and Jan, two Czech soldiers, battling alongside the allied forces against the Germans, during World War II in Tobruk, Libya. Jiri Pospichal, eighteen years old, signs up as a volunteer in the Czechoslovak army. His naive ideas about heroism are rawly confronted with the hell of the African desert, complicated relationships in his unit and the ubiquitous threat of death.

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Plot Keywords:

heat | hot weather | czech abroad | desert | sand | 

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Genres:

History | War

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Czech Republic]

Country:

Czech Republic Slovakia

Language:

Czech Slovak Portuguese

Release Date:

4 September 2008 (Slovakia)

Also Known As:

La bataille de Tobrouk

Filming Locations:

Prague, Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

CZK 80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$112,656 (Czech Republic), 11 September 2008, Limited Release

Company Credits

Production Co:

Silver Screen, Ceská Televize, Free - Cool - In

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min (original) 102 min (Pantalla Pinamar Festival)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Clips from this film are used in 'Desert War', a two-part television documentary, broadcast on ABC television in Australia in April/May 2013.

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Connections

Referenced in Rozstrel: Václav Marhoul (2017)

User Reviews

No action packed Hollywood but solid war flick with great production value

One by one the Eastern European movies are drawing line with Hollywood, especially in the badly neglected production value department. The best example, together with a couple of solid Hungarian and Polish attempts, are probably Night Watch, Day Watch or The 9th Company from Russia. The fourth one to catch up is the once great Czech cinematography. Tobruk is certainly no Private Ryan or Pearl Harbour, neither budget-wise nor fun-wise, but it sure looks and feels damn good, especially the music and sounds (divx is a poor option, must see in decent Dolby movie theatre!). It's probably not the best choice for pure action flick lovers and blockbuster addicts, Tobruk is too lengthy, austere and broody for that, more in the The Thin Red Line style or - perhaps more fittingly - All Quiet on the Western Front. But for real war movie lovers it makes it up with some really mean and gory scenes, 0% cheesiness and uncompromising WWII North Africa authenticity - and you can never get enough of those, am I right? :)