Known for Acting
A story about an everyday life of an inflectional department of Prague hospital.
The Czech film Svítalo All Night was made to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the liberation of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Army and is dedicated to all those who fought and gave their lives in Prague in the May Uprising of 1945. Behind the historical events, the creators see mainly their simple, unassuming participants. Thus, we are presented with a number of apt portraits, whether it is the central hero Dr. Soukup and nurse Daniela on the side of the fighting Czechs, or a captain and a simple private in a Red Army unit coming to the aid of the fighting Prague, or an old, war-weary German major, who only realises the senselessness of the war at the sight of a fanatical, cynical lieutenant for whom Nazi ideology represents the meaning of life.
Set in Prague during the years leading up to World War II, this family saga tells the story of a cobbler named Vincenc Bursik (Vladimir Mensik), who uproots his clan from the country to the city, only to suffer the loss of his wife and the failure of his shoe business within months. When his daughter moves away to go live with a wealthy businessman as his mistress, Vincenc is left to take care of his two sons, who spend their days in a secret garden vying for the affections of a teenage girl.
This documentary-style story tells the story of an aspiring documentary filmmaker who is preparing a film about the history of glassmaking. He is honestly gathering information, slowly getting closer to an unknown and not always accessible environment, to people, whose actions he often doesn't understand because he misses their motivations... Shards for Eva is certainly not a skillfully wrought work, but it certainly impresses with its sense of at least partial capture of everyday reality.
On 20th of April 1945 the Soviet army launches its attack on Berlin. The end has come for Nazi Germany and Hitler decides to commit suicide. In Prague K.H. Frank (Nazi Secretary of State and Chief of police in the Protectorate of Bohemia a Moravia) discusses with his commanders how to transform the city into an impregnable fortress, but the Praguers do not intend to wait any longer. From the early hours of 4th of May people start assembling in the streets and tearing down German signs. On the next day, the 5th of May, the uprising begins.
In May 1945, Czech revolutionaries used several armoured trains in the fighting - partly captured, partly assembled from whatever the railway brought. One of them was commanded by the shunter Jan Chýň, who managed to bring weapons from the ammunition depot in Libčice to help the fighting in Prague.
Albrechtice near Jablonec. Sixteen-year-old Pavlínka Linková lives with her grandmother Barbara, a local midwife who raised her after the death of the girl's parents. The charming girl experiences her first amorous outburst towards Pavel Žák, a young textile worker in nearby Svárovo. Her grandmother, however, prevents her from contacting Pavel in every possible way. Firstly, as a midwife, she knows well what can happen, and secondly, she remembers her old adventures well. Love, however, cannot be ordered around, especially not by a worried grandmother. But there are other obstacles. The textile workers of Svárovo are planning a strike and a demonstration against redundancies and wage cuts, and the factory director is preparing a vigorous response. The year is 1870 and the unsuspecting Pavlina finds herself in the middle of events that will go down in history...
The news that the television is going to make a film about the cooperative's leisure activities leads the locals to extraordinary social and sporting activity, but the only result is a chain of endless confusions, misunderstandings and disasters...
It is 1920, political unrest is growing in Prague and the Social Democrats are about to betray their historic mission by prioritising their own selfish interests instead of those of the working class. An extortionist scandal falls on the Social Democratic deputy Jandák, forcing him to renounce his convictions. Under these circumstances, the seriously ill Hungarian revolutionary Kerekes, who had to flee his homeland, is hiding in Prague...
During World War II, dogs were trained in special centres for guard duty in concentration camps. However, one of the prisoners domesticates a female German Shepherd, which saves his life during his escape.
