Rules of Lies

Colour, 35 mm
Czech Republic, 2006, 119 min
IP – International premiere
Section: East of the West - Films in Competition

Synopsis

33-year-old Roman decides to tackle his drug addiction by undergoing group therapy as part of a community holed up on an isolated farm in the Šumava mountains. Twelve people, men and women of varying ages and social status, voluntarily subject themselves to a tough regime under the supervision of three therapists. Many of them have stared death in the face already – overdoses, suicide attempts, and aggression heightened by the use of hard drugs, outwardly affecting even the strongest of them. Each brings something of his past into the group, which he has to experience again, both for himself and for those assembled. Past anguish, wrongs and guilt give rise to new problems: in this thickening atmosphere of suspicion and lies, who can still be trusted? This intimate psychological drama deliberately sets out to break up the tight narrative form through retrospectives in which we learn about the past life of each individual. The director studied the environment of a similar group in Němčice in South Bohemia, the subject of his documentary Long Hangover (2003).

About the director

Robert Sedláček (b. 1973, Gottwaldov) studied documentary film at FAMU (2000). He worked as a news editor for Czech TV and, from the mid-1990s, also on its current affairs magazines and the Febio cycles. However, he chiefly makes documentaries on social and current affairs. His filmography includes the testimony about organised intolerance Skinheads (1997), the confessions of people involved in the events of 17 November 1989 Back Then (1999) and its sequels Back Then 2: A Chance for Slovakia (2000) and Back Then 3: Husák’s Silence (2002), the documentaries Romanies in the West (2001) and A Romany Saga 1950-2000 (2001), collaboration on the two-part documentary The Lustre and Squalor of the Czech Lands (2003) and the project The Road to Power (2006), which goes behind the scenes of last year’s elections. Rules of Lies is his feature film debut (Film Critics’ Prize for Best Film and Czech Lion for Best Screenplay).