The Poets Never Lose Hope

Colour, 35 mm
Czech Republic, 2004, 115 min
Section: Czech Films

Synopsis

The legendary “poets” return to the screen for the fifth time after an eleven-year interval. They’ve aged a little but kept their sense of humour, their dreams and their reason for living. The mother of the lead, Štěpán, has died and his relationship with his girlfriend Ute has grown stale over the years and is slowly dying. His mate Kendy is getting divorced and seeks asylum with Štěpán. Moreover, Štěpán’s dream of private practice has faded away, so he travels with an ambulance as doctor. But the eternal romantic Štěpán and the shrewd Kendy bear their lack of success in life with humour and always enjoy a practical joke. There is a new love on the horizon – meeting pharmacist Anička makes some changes in Štěpán’s previous life. He and Ute make a definitive break, but because of a misunderstanding Anička disappears from his life as well. Štěpán is pressed into the vacant post of director of the local hospital, but his attempt to save it fails and our hero returns to the work which is meaningful for him – to the ambulance. Thanks to this he finds a route again to the lost Anička… In this poetic socially-minded comedy, which like the earlier works has its sights on the abuses of contemporary times, we meet well-known characters, are again delighted by new quips, and by the music and songs of Jaroslav Uhlíř. Adolf Born’s animated sequences add a finishing touch.

About the director

Dušan Klein (b. 1939, Michalovce) graduated in direction from Prague’s Film Academy (FAMU) in 1963. In the second half of the 1960s he devoted himself to television, and from the beginning of the 1970s made spy, detective and criminal dramas in the Barrandov Film Studios. He had an outstanding success in the 1980s with his “Poet” comedies. After 1989 he made films and productions for Czech Television, achieving particular success with the ten-part comic detective series “The Sins of Father Knox”, broadcast live with audience participation and a competition. He also teaches. His filmography includes: One of them is the Murderer (1970), The Mystery of the Golden Buddha (1973), The City Knows Nothing (1975), Bet on Thirteen (1977), How the World is Losing Poets (1982), How Poets are Losing their Illusions (1984), How Poets are Enjoying their Lives (1987), Good Pigeons Return (1988), Yes, Dear Friends (1989), The End of Poets in Bohemia… (1993), Angelic Eyes (1994), Konto separato (1997). With the fifth part of the series, Poets Never Lose Hope, Dušan Klein returns to feature films.