Autumn Spring

Colour, 35mm
Czech Republic, 2001, 97 min
Section: Variety Critics´ Choice

Synopsis

A mellowly defiant pensioner risks alienating his exasperated wife of 44 years in the deftly low-key comedy "Autumn Spring," which reps an expertly old-school return to form for helmer Vladimír Michálek and cameraman Martin Štrba. Aided and abetted by his longtime chum and former theatre colleague Eda (Stanislav Zindulka), deceptively dignified 75-year-old Fanda Hana (Vlastimil Brodský) likes to pretend to be someone else, imperiously touring a country estate up for sale or posing as ticket inspectors on the Prague subway. Although Fanda bickers constantly with his wife, Emílie (Stella Zázvorkova), their bond is palpable. With some 125 years of screen experience among them, Brodský, Zázvorková and Zindulka have filled their performances to the brim with underplayed yet mischievous grace notes. Eddie Cockrell