Teddy Bear

Colour, 35 mm
Czech Republic, 2007, 98 min
Section: Czech Films 2007-2008

Synopsis

On this occasion Jan Hřebejk and his regular screenwriter Petr Jarchovský applied their interest in human relationships to their own generation. The heroes of the tragicomedy about friendship, love, sincerity and responsibility are today’s forty-somethings – former school friends who continue to meet up from time to time to see how each is doing. On the threshold of middle age, they are experiencing crisis situations, chiefly in their private lives: Jirka, a somewhat ineffective gallery owner, is drifting apart from his wife Vanda who is vainly trying to run a cake shop; ambassador Ivan and his wife Johanka have muted arguments as to whether their children will grow up in Rome or in Prague; and gynaecologist Roman is hiding the existence of a “parallel” family from his infertile wife Anna, who vents her bitterness by baking a cake in the shape of a teddy bear. “I’m interested in stories where things under the surface are not as they seem on the outside,” says Jan Hřebejk who, in his comic relationships mosaic, doesn’t conceal the fact that he considers women to be naturally stronger in the fight for domination between partners.

About the director

Jan Hřebejk (b. 1967, Prague) was already being hailed for his college work in the screenwriting and programming dept. of FAMU. He earned his reputation with the comedy Let’s Sing a Song (Pějme píseň dohola, 1990, dir. Ondřej Trojan), which he co-wrote. He debuted with the musical Big Beat (Šakalí léta, 1993), which brought him his first Czech Lion for Best Direction. He received another two for the tragicomedy set during the Protectorate Divided We Fall (Musíme si pomáhat, 2004, + Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film) and the comedy criticising modern Czech society Up and Down (Horem Pádem, 2004). He then made the tragicomedies Cosy Dens (Pelíšky, 1999) and Pupendo (2003) and the love story Beauty in Trouble (Kráska v nesnázích, 2006), which won three Czech Lions, an award for Best European Film at the Denver IFF and the Special Jury Prize at the KVIFF 2006.