Soul at Peace

Colour, 35 mm
Slovak Republic, 2009, 97 min
IP – International premiere
Section: Official Selection - Competition

Synopsis

Tono, a man in his forties, is released from prison and tries to resume his life as an ordinary citizen. Now estranged from his wife, he doesn’t even know his five-year-old son and he can’t get work, since everyone regards ex-convicts with suspicion. Confronted by his former friend and "best mate” Štefan, unconventional Tono is forced to resolve a precarious drama unfolding within him, however, he comes out of it with his honour intact. The excellent script by Jiří Křižan, Martin Štrba’s refined camerawork and meticulous direction from Vladimír Balko together create a compelling tragedy about crime and its consequences, the desire to start afresh in spite of spectres from the past, about faith in good things and inclinations towards evil. The film has various parallels with Sekal Has to Die, also written by Křižan – again a provincial drama about conflicts within a central character intransigent in his attitudes, in a tale which pits good against evil. Soul at Peace also gives an authentic portrayal of the rural environment of central Slovakia, the local Romany community and the attitude of the villagers towards "black sheep” Tono. The film defies the general trend to ensure entertainment value and offers a thought-provoking and powerful visual story.

About the director

Vladimír Balko (b. 1965) graduated from the School of Economics and studied film and TV journalism in Bratislava. From 1988 to 1996 he was employed by Slovak Television as an editor, script adviser, director and producer. He works with a number of production companies on a variety of entertainment and current affairs programmes and TV features. He was involved in the documentary series Redline, Time for Teens and Hope for Children with No Childhood; his documentary Seeking a Nanny, Password Agent Orange from this series won an award at the 38th Academia Film Olomouc festival of documentary films. In his series of portraits The Dozen for Markíza TV he filmed profiles of Martin Hollý, Jarmila Hargašová and Jozef Bednárik, among others. He has also made various award-winning music videos, the series Between You and Me for Markíza TV and several parts of the popular Slovak serial Prefab on TV Joj. The film Soul at Peace is his feature film debut.