Non plus ultras

Colour, 35 mm
Czech Republic, 2004, 79 min
Section: Czech Films 2004-2005
Oficiální stránky: www.nonplusultras.cz

Synopsis

Jirka, nicknamed Bull, is the leader of a group of diehard Sparta Prague fans who aren’t interested in anything but soccer and alcohol. The gang includes the bad tempered rowdy Eye, a lummox named Diver, the stuttering dolt Dog and the decent, slightly older Stick. They make their home away from home at Lojza’s pub, swilling mind-numbing quantities of beer and waiting for the arrival of two English rowdies who share the young men’s lifestyle despite getting on in years. But Bull has other problems to solve: he’s fallen for a friend of his sister’s, which generates a bit of a tricky situation: girlfriends don’t fit in with his current way of life. Admittedly, the hooliganism which goes along with being a soccer fan is central to the film, but it is not its only theme: the script employs comic distance to comment on the extreme lives of outwardly ordinary youths. 

About the director

Jakub Sluka (b. 1974, Prague) graduated from Prague’s Film Academy (FAMU) in 1998. He gained professional experience making successful music videos and commercials, and he has also made inroads as a documentary filmmaker. Filmography: the short 16 mm documentaries What Can You Do (1995), The Sun Sets So Sorrowfully (1996), Terra australis (1998) with which he became a finalist at the Telly Awards (USA), A Parisian Belly of Memories ( 2002). In 2004 he shot hisfeature debut, the comedy Non plus ultras, acting as producer as well.