Pupendo

Colour, 35 mm
Czech Republic, 2003, 122 min
Section: Official selection
Oficiální stránky: www.pupendo.com

Synopsis

Set just prior to the Orwellian year 1984, the movie focuses on several tragicomic incidents in the life of Bedřich Mára, a Prague sculptor of uncompromising political opinions whose promising artistic career is cut short by the Communist regime. The bohemian artist has been barred from exhibiting his work and, with the help of his devoted wife Alena, he supports his family producing ceramic kitsch. In contrast, Magda, Mára´s former student at the Art Academy, and her husband, principal Míla, decided not to give the regime a reason to pick on them. But things get a bit sticky for the protagonists when Mára accepts a humiliating state commission by way of reviving his career. The adults´ compromises and their ridiculous daily struggle to keep their consciences clean and put bread on the table are observed by their bewildered teenage kids, who dream of a refuge transcending the limits of everyday life. An infantile initiation ritual practiced by school children lent its name to this third cooperative effort by director Jan Hřebejk and screenwriter Petr Jarchovský. The filmmakers turn once again to the recent past: this time around it´s the era of Communist normalization, a time they associate with the bittersweet atmosphere of growing up.

About the director

Jan Hřebejk (b. 1967, Prague) is one of today´s most popular Czech directors. After graduating in screenwriting and script editing from Prague´s Film Academy (FAMU), he debuted in 1993 with the fifties retrofilm Big Beat, awarded Czech Lions for Best Direction and Best Film. He and screenwriter Petr Jarchovský drew inspiration for his second film from writer Petr Šabach to create Cosy Dens (1999), a family tragicomedy reflecting on the events of 1968. The occupation comedy Divided We Fall (2000) followed and was nominated for an Oscar. Hřebejk was also successful directing for Czech Television; he also works in the theatre (four one-act plays, Christopher Hampton´s Dangerous Liaisons and Woody Allen´s Bullets Over Broadway).