Skill of Gold

Skill of Gold 1943

8.50

A village shop owner is convinced by his children to move to Prague, where they say he'll be able to enjoy a fine retirement in a modern furnished apartment. Bored by life in Prague with nothing to do, the old man takes to helping a young widow in her stationery shop.

1943

Chalk and Cheese

Chalk and Cheese 1941

9.00

Rudolf Bartoš, the owner of a farm, quarry and factory, is extremely rich, however, he is unapproachable and irritable, and the dread of his employees. One day he falls down a steep slope by a river and hurts himself. The quarryman Fábera finds him groaning in pain and takes him to his cottage.

1941

Grandmother

Grandmother 1940

6.10

A highly romanticized autobiographical novel by a Czech 19th century writer, Bozena Nemcova. It's a classical, compulsory reading in Czech schools, about a wise, working-class woman, happier in her simplicity and good heart than the nobles whom she serves.

1940

Eva Fools Around

Eva Fools Around 1939

6.70

Eva's aunt is jealous of her neighbor's excellent roses and wants to know the secret. To help auntie out Eva applies for secretarial work at the neighbor's house in order to find out the formula. Things get complicated when it turns out that Eva's brother is in love with the daughter of the house and also wants to get in there under false pretenses.

1939

Sobota

Sobota 1945

6.00

A social comedy about a wealthy man in his prime, for whom marital infidelity is just a pleasant and regular sport. A young flower shop owner, to whom her husband seems to be generally ordinary and overworked, nevertheless manages to resist the advances of an experienced seducer.

1945

Mist on the Moors

Mist on the Moors 1944

7.00

Mist on the Moors examines fates of just about a few people. Their stories are outlined in a short space of time and are a symbolic representation of the drama of life, struggle for justice, human cognizance and the healing power of love. One of the most important components of the film is the nature, which ceases to be a mere stage for its plot—it serves almost as an autonomous plot agent. The movie landscape is a precisely defined and localized one. Only the South Bohemian ponds can serve as the right environment for development of such earthy and typically human stories as we encounter in the Mist on the Moors.

1944

Happy Journey

Happy Journey 1943

5.00

Filmed during the Nazi occupation, this panoramic drama set in a Prague department store follows the divergent destinies of four female coworkers, each of whom seeks happiness in a different way.

1943

Humoreska

Humoreska 1939

6.00

Dvořák's well-known composition reappears again and again in the serious moments of the lives of the father and son Hupeks - talented non-professional musicians for whom music gives them the opportunity to rise above difficulties and problems...

1939

The Masked Lover

The Masked Lover 1940

7.00

A romantic story of a noble lady who wanted to live without the bonds of marriage, but her desire for a child led her - carefully disguised - into the arms of a young nobleman. Only years later did she believe in his love and make herself known.

1940

Virginity

Virginity 1937

5.30

The doomed love of a city girl caught in the vise of poverty is detailed in Vavra’s fluid, romantic work, one of the most elegant creations of the Czech Modernist era... The film lingers over its characters’ habitats and haunts, finding psychological truths in what each owns or desires, and countering every Hollywood-ready scene of gleaming restaurants and dazzling penthouses with realist moments of employment lines and crammed flats. Vavra’s classical camerawork and aura of romantic defeatism give Virginity a force comparable to the master of this genre, Hollywood’s Frank Borzage. (BAM/PFA)

1937

Nocturnal Butterfly

Nocturnal Butterfly 1941

6.20

Marta Dekasová works as a governess in a garrison town. The beautiful girl is the center of attention of many men, but she only desires Lieutenant Varga, who is married and rejects her. Desperate, Marta throws herself into the arms of the most intrusive of her suitors, and is then dismissed in disgrace. She goes to Prague to live with her friend Kiki, becomes a bar singer, and continues her journey down the sloping surface. Hope for a new life dawns on her when a young student falls in love with her, but just then Varga appears in the bar and rekindles her unquenched feelings...

1941

Mother-Hen

Mother-Hen 1937

6.50

A comedy about a caring protector of the family who had help, good advice and understanding for everyone. No one in the family calls Anna Svojanovská anything other than Kvočna - everyone is used to running under her protective wings as soon as any problems arise. And what a blessing this mother and grandmother has to deal with!

1937

A Step into the Darkness

A Step into the Darkness 1938

5.50

A dashing but mysterious man saves a gambler from suicide, crashes the posh party of a prominent industrialist, falls in love with his daughter, and finds himself in a web of intrigue revolving around her blackmailing fiance and a gang of counterfeiters.

1938

Rozina the Love Child

Rozina the Love Child 1945

7.00

Prague, the beginning of the 17th century. Rozina falls in love with Italian glass worker Nikolo, but after returning home, she gets a message that will never come to Prague. She falls for the promise of an older man to marry her, but when Nikolo does return, the tragic fate of Rozina is sealed.

1945

The World Where One Goes Begging

The World Where One Goes Begging 1938

1

The smooth narration, corresponding to the requirements of a light comedy, develops the smiling and optimistic story of the "one-armed" beggar Dostál, who earned enough money with his excellent begging skills to buy a nice house, become a respectable master of the house, and save the impoverished lawyer Neprosil from poverty, who he contributed regularly to him when he was still well off. He also wanted to get him together with his pretty ward Zorka, for whom he said he would be an ideal husband, but the young people were able to do that by themselves and without his clumsy help, or rather despite his rather ineffective help... The film was shown at the VI. IFF in Venice in 1938.

1938

Za tichých nocí

Za tichých nocí 1941

6.00

Jana's beautiful niece arrives in Prague to live with two spinster aunts. Both women wish to marry her off. The son of the court councilor Petr is courting her. However, Jana has met a young official Záviš and the two fall in love. But Záviš is poor and cannot marry yet. They keep it a secret from Jana that he composes songs. Coincidentally, Petr is his friend and both men talk about the girls they love, unaware that in both cases it is Jana...

1941

Preludium

Preludium 1941

7.00

Theater props maker Karel Vajgant has a young wife, Magda, and two children, seven-year-old Pavlík and eleven-year-old Pepička. Magda is a caring mother, but she feels that her husband prioritizes work and his comfort. In a weak moment, Magda becomes unfaithful. Vajgant receives an anonymous letter that warns him of his wife's infidelity. His friend, the opportunist Tonda, advises him to throw away the letter and instead devote more time to Magda...

1941

Panna

Panna 1940

5.50

Mrs. Piskořová, co-owner of a debt-ridden boarding house, forces her daughter Klára to marry a wealthy elderly architect, Kacík, who has recently separated from his wife. However, Klára is in love with the waiter Prokop, who she does not know is actually a mining engineer. No one suspects that Klára's land, considered worthless, contains a coal deposit...

1940

Okouzlená

Okouzlená 1942

5.00

In the garden of Hojtaš's estate, local dignitaries gather to watch a theatrical performance starring the author of the play, Dr. Pavel Chvojka, the landowner's granddaughter Olga, and Lenka, her ward. Lenka is intoxicated by the theater and Pavel, but he prefers the more experienced Olga. Lenka runs away to Prague to become a real actress. However, the beginnings are difficult and the girl is forced to work in a fashion salon. Here she meets the warm-hearted Milada, with whom she also shares a sublet. In the salon, Lenka meets Pavel again after some time...

1942