Parallel Worlds

Colour, 35mm
Czech Republic, 2001, 100 min
Section: Czech Films

Synopsis

A fragile translator named Tereza has been living for some time with ambitious architect Kryštof. Their relationship, however, is increasingly clearly being undermined by a certain coolness. The impractical and oversensitive young woman is tussling with the translation of her first book but she gets no support from her overburdened partner who, at the same time, is fighting his own battle against compromise in connection with the realisation of his first project. Tezera is looking for security in life and would like to have children, but Kryštof, who is planning a work stay abroad, doesn’t share her concerns. Moreover, he’s also secretly having an affair with the carefree and married Renata. When Tereza feels forced to conceal the fact that she’s had an abortion, and when she falls ever deeper into a state of depression from which there is no visible escape, it seems that the relationship has come to an end - but for both of them it may signify a new, independent beginning. This intimate variation on the theme of the quest to find the right balance within a relationship is a minimalist study of the alienation associated with a modern world typified by compromise, misunderstanding and squandered dreams.

About the director

Petr Václav (b. 1967, Prague) graduated in documentary filmmaking from Prague’s Film Academy (FAMU) in 1995. Even while at school his short films gained him a share of recognition (The Face of Žižka - 1988, Deal - 1990, Cuoc song o ubitovna - 1992), and his artsy short Madame Le Murie (1993) proved to be one of the most eloquent documentaries of the first half of the nineties. In 1989 he completed his studies at FEMIS (Découverte de cinéma francais) in Paris. Like his mother, documentarist Ljuba Václavová, before him, he is concerned with social subjects, a trait which also marked his feature debut, a psychological drama focusing on a Romany boy, Marian (1996), which garnered the director a Silver Leopard at the 1996 Locarno IFF, the FIPRESCI Prize (Locarno) and a Special Mention by the FICC jury. Parellel Worlds is his second feature film.