Tobruk

Colour, 35 mm
Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, 2008, 102 min
Section: Czech Films 2008-2009

Synopsis

Autumn 1941. The Czechoslovak 11th Infantry Battalion (East) is sent to the North African town of Tobruk; their task is to join the allies in defending the last strategic seaport in northern Libya from German and Italian units. The recruits’ dreams of heroism are soon countered with the tough reality of their situation: the constant threat of not only enemy fire, but also the blistering heat of the African desert and, surprisingly, also the limits of their own patience and bravery. Private Jiří Pospíchal, like the others, has to resist the loss of his self-respect and put to the test his will to survive. Inspired by the novel by Stephen Crane, Václav Marhoul’s original war film is not conceived as a traditional war drama, but as a visually uncompromising, atmospheric spectacle which testifies to the courage of men to fight for their country far from home. Nominated for nine Czech Lion awards, Tobruk garnered three (Best Cinematography, Music and Sound).

About the director

Václav Marhoul (b. 1960, Prague) studied production at Prague’s FAMU and began as production assistant at the Barrandov Film Studios. He left in 1986 to work on the production of films involving the Prague Five, but returned to Barrandov in 1990 as head of the studios and later shared in its privatisation. In 1997 he established his own company Silver Screen, which deals in various film, stage and fine art projects. The company has also been associated with a number of public events, such as support for Czech membership of NATO (1998), the Commemoration of the Victims of Communism (2005) and the organisation of cultural events during the NATO summit in Prague (2002). He is a member of Prague’s Sklep theatre and the art group The Stubborn  (Tvrdohlaví). Apart from his own films, his company produced the film by Oskar Reif The Bed (1998). He debuted as a director in 2003 with the audience hit Smart Philip, a parody of hard-hitting detective stories.