Some Secrets

Colour, 35 mm
Czech Republic, 2002, 103 min
Section: Czech Films

Synopsis

A family trip which transforms into a tragicomic psychological drama – this is the theme of the second feature by young and talented Czech director Alice Nellis. Claiming that it was her son’s wish, Grandma Valerie is determined to transfer his urned remains from the small Czech town of Rakovník to their native Slovakia. Her daughter-in-law agrees to accompany her, as do her two adult granddaughters. The older, Ilona, is nearing the term of her second pregnancy (she’s already got a five-year-old boy). The younger sister, Zuzana, is accompanied by her good-hearted husband Pavel. Their relationship has long been on the rocks, and Zuzana, who is carrying on with a bohemian artist, is contemplating divorce. Neither of the girls gets along much with their nosey and anxious mother who is ever meddling in their lives. The family sets off in two cars for the dead man’s hometown. Tense relations and conflicts come to a head along the way, and the truth erupts from under layers of pretence and deferential consideration. The truths revealed are at times surprising, at others bitter or even comic, but always cleansing. The director cast the lead roles of the mother and her two daughters with one of the most popular Czech actresses, Iva Janžurová, and her own two daughters, Sabina and Theodora Remundová.

About the director

Alice Nellis (b. 1971, České Budějovice), screenwriter and director, studied flute at the Prague Conservatoire (1989-93), English at Charles University (1989-95) and then screenwriting and script editing at Prague’s Film Academy (FAMU). She once earned a living playing the flute in a renaissance ensemble, translating books and teaching English. She has directed for the theatre, written the script for Connoisseurs (1996, dir. Stanislav Zeman), and shot several television documentaries, including: Follia (1997), Necessary Regulatory (1999) and The Miserable (1999). Nellis debuted in features with the bittersweet comedy Eeny Meeny (1999), filmed from her own script (for which she received a 1998 Maxim Award at FAMU). Some Secrets (2002) is her second writer-director feature, stylistically reminiscent of her debut. The film was awarded at home and abroad: a 2000 FAMU Maxim, the 2002 Czech Film Critics’ Award – Kristián, a Czech Lion for Best Screenplay, and Best New Director at the San Sebastian IFF, among others.