Country Teacher

Colour, 35 mm
Czech Republic, Germany, France, 2008, 117 min
Section: Czech Films 2008-2009

Synopsis

A young teacher leaves his secondary school and parents in the capital and arrives at a village school; he hopes his new position will help him find out who he really is. He slowly gains the trust of the local people, in particular, the unconventional landowner Marie and her 17-year-old son. A visit from the teacher’s friend from Prague transforms this outwardly serene place into a smouldering pyre of broken relationships. Marie and especially her son are alarmed to discover that their new friend is a homosexual. Will the heroes of this poetic drama be able to find the strength to forgive and to recast their desire for love and friendship? Bohdan Sláma develops the theme of yearning and forgiveness in an intimate story of three people. This highly acclaimed film won two Czech Lions (for screenplay and actress playing the female lead, Zuzana Bydžovská), it won the Audience Award at the Festival of East European Cinema in Cottbus, and at the Stockholm Film Festival it garnered awards for actress Zuzana Bydžovská and cameraman Diviš Marek.

About the director

Bohdan Sláma (b. 1967, Opava) graduated from the Czech Technical University (Faculty of Civil Engineering) and completed his studies in feature film direction at Prague’s FAMU in 1997. His graduate film White Acacias, together with his college exercise The Garden of Eden (1994), was also sent into Czech distribution (1996). His feature debut The Wild Bees (2001) clearly drew on the poetic style of the 1960s Czech New Wave and won many awards at international film festivals (e.g. the IFFs in Rotterdam – Tiger Award, San Francisco – SKYY prize). Representing the Czech Republic, the film competed for an Oscar and the European Film Award. The similarly atmospheric film Something Like Happiness (2005) won 7 Czech Lions and various awards at domestic and international film festivals (i.e. Best Direction in Athens, Golden Seashell for Best Director and Silver Seashell for Best Actress – A. Geislerová – in San Sebastian, and a Platinum Award for Best Screenplay in Viareggio).