Fateful Fortune

Colour, HD CAM
Czech Republic, 2010, 110 min
IP – International premiere
Section: Czech Films 2010 - 2011

Synopsis

Grammar school teacher Jiří is distracted from his solitude and dull routine by an unexpected nocturnal visit from his beloved younger sister, Růžena, a former seamstress. She tells her brother that she has run away from her husband Fanda, a textile trader, as she can no longer stand his avarice and vulgarity. From his other sister, Tylda, however, Jiří later discovers that Růžena has been spending a lot of money and has left her husband for a captain of the dragoons. Růžena finds out that she is pregnant, but the captain jilts her on account of his forthcoming marriage. Disillusioned, she thinks her lies have turned her brother against her and she resolves to take desperate measures.... This elegant, sophisticated work by legendary Czech filmmaker Jiří Krejčík is appealing for its gentle humour but also for the empathy and affection it shows its characters. The ill-fated Růžena, in particular, is placed at the very heart of the film’s fragile spiritual composition. This picture was loosely based on Karel Čapek’s tale "Money” from the collection Money and Other Stories (1921).

About the director

Jiří Krejčík (b. 1918, Prague) was forced by the Nazi occupation to abandon his studies at Prague’s Technical University. He began his career producing commercials and short films. For his directorial debut Jan Neruda’s, A Week in the House of Silence (1947). His film oeuvre, incorporating diverse themes and genres, includes both drama and psychological stories (e.g. Conscience, 1948, Mrs Dulská’s Morals, 1958), and comedies with unconventional heroes (e.g. The Shotgun Wedding and Boarding House for Bachelors, both 1967). He frequently returned to the theme of Nazism (e.g. The Higher Principle, 1960, Midnight Mass, 1962), and his films from the totalitarian era sought to probe his audiences’ moral sentiments (e.g. the drama Divine Emma, 1979). His career has also included stage and TV direction. The KVIFF honoured him with the Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema in 2005.