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IMDbPro

Eighty Letters

Original title: Osmdesát dopisu
  • 2011
  • 1h 15m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
71
YOUR RATING
Eighty Letters (2011)
Eighty Letters is autobiographically based. The source of the film are the memories of the director and the surviving correspondence between his parents. The story takes place in Czechoslovakia in 1987. The father has defected to England and the mother and her son are planning to leave the country to be reunited with him. Husband, wife, child – even at a distance they are still together, but the forced break-up of any family is an abnormal situation. The events of the film are viewed from the boy’s perspective, the exasperated gaze of one lacking experience, his initiation in the course of this single day - the film.  It is the day when the youth gets a glimpse of adulthood and overcomes fear. His mother’s movements are part of an intensified daily routine, as she maps it out hour by hour. It is a battlefield situation for her. She is on her way, her son catches up with her on that path, but she must act alone if they are to achieve completeness together.
Play trailer1:12
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DramaFamily

The story takes place in Czechoslovakia in 1987. The father has defected to England and the mother and her son are planning to leave the country to reunite with him. The film is told through... Read allThe story takes place in Czechoslovakia in 1987. The father has defected to England and the mother and her son are planning to leave the country to reunite with him. The film is told through the eyes of the fourteen year old boy, his rankled look without the veneer of experience ... Read allThe story takes place in Czechoslovakia in 1987. The father has defected to England and the mother and her son are planning to leave the country to reunite with him. The film is told through the eyes of the fourteen year old boy, his rankled look without the veneer of experience and initiation in one day. His mother moves about in an intensified daily routine, mapping... Read all

  • Director
    • Václav Kadrnka
  • Writers
    • Jirí Soukup
    • Václav Kadrnka
  • Stars
    • Zuzana Lapcíková
    • Martin Pavlus
    • Gerald Turner
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.6/10
    71
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Václav Kadrnka
    • Writers
      • Jirí Soukup
      • Václav Kadrnka
    • Stars
      • Zuzana Lapcíková
      • Martin Pavlus
      • Gerald Turner
    • 1User review
    • 5Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 1 nomination

    Videos2

    EIGHTY LETTERS - trailer 1
    Trailer 1:12
    Watch EIGHTY LETTERS - trailer 1
    EIGHTY LETTERS - excerpt 1
    Clip 2:03
    Watch EIGHTY LETTERS - excerpt 1

    Photos

    Eighty Letters (2011)
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    Top cast

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    Zuzana Lapcíková
    • Mother
    Martin Pavlus
    • Son
    Gerald Turner
    • Englishman
    Andrea Miltner
    Andrea Miltner
    • Englishwoman
    Martin Vrtácek
    • Doctor
    Radoslav Sopík
    • Officer
    Frantisek Brezík
    • Man in Waiting Room
    Vlastimil Homola
    • Doorman
    Hana Brezíková
    • Nurse
    • Director
      • Václav Kadrnka
    • Writers
      • Jirí Soukup(screenplay)
      • Václav Kadrnka(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Soundtracks
      Pari intervallo
      Composed by Arvo Pärt

      Organ performed by Christopher Bowers-Broadbent

      Produced by Manfred Eicher

      Recorded at Karlshöhe Ludwigsburg

      Published by ECM Records 1987

      With kind permission of Universal Edition AG, Vienna

    User reviews1

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    "It's always the details that take roots in your memory, never the whole."
    Osmdesát dopisu | Eighty Letters

    Czech Republic 2011

    The most gorgeous, luminous film I've seen this year. Every shot is a masterpiece. A film essay on the interface of aesthetics and humanity, composition and the human experience.

    A boy searches for his mother in the early morning commute. Mother and son want to go to the UK to reunite with the father who has emigrated there ahead of them.

    A lesson in attentive observation. A most closely observed sound design. The scratching of a pen.

    A mother's perfectly organized file. "If they throw me out one door, I'll come in another." Two brilliant actors playing mother and son, maestro Zuzana Lapčíková and the genius Martin Pavluš. Re-creating the great silent film actors. Falconetti.

    Two moments of score as the past comes alive – Arvo Pärt. Accompanying old classroom photo, and letters the two read together.

    "It's always the details that take roots in your memory, never the whole." Re-creation of documents and journal must have been a formidable task.
    helpful•4
    0
    • hudsonwa
    • May 24, 2011

    Details

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    • Release date
      • April 21, 2011 (Czech Republic)
    • Country of origin
      • Czech Republic
    • Language
      • Czech
    • Also known as
      • Osiemdziesiat listów
    • Filming locations
      • Zlín, Czech Republic
    • Production companies
      • Bystrouska
      • Cinepost
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 15 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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