Known for Acting
A young teacher is sent to a rural reform school, where he is faced with brutality of the inmates.
Set in World War 2 as the Germans occupy Czechoslovakia, teenage Emilka's father is murdered by the Nazis, but she is selected for special treatment by virtue of being blonde. She is billeted with the commandant of a concentration camp near the Baltic coast, where his kindness towards her provokes his wife's jealousy, but is compromised when Emilka witnesses his brutality towards the prisoners.
The story from a small Czech mountain village takes place over five days in February 1948 and describes the fate of a young couple, Tomáš and Vendula, against the backdrop of events that reflect the atmosphere of the time, with a political crisis brewing and radical changes on the horizon. The preparations for the wedding of the young couple – miner Tomáš and teacher Vendula – are not going according to plan. Food such as sugar, butter, and bread are still rationed. In addition to their personal problems, the escalating political situation further complicates matters. The lives of Tomáš and Vendula are affected by the disputes between their grandfathers – retired miner Václav Kašpar and his childhood friend, grocer Rynda. The youngest descendants of the feuding families thus find themselves in the fateful position of Romeo and Juliet.
The war will also affect children's games. The children hide a French boy who has managed to escape from a prison transport. Language differences certainly don't matter when sporting talent is on display. The refugee becomes a welcome addition to the schoolboy football team, which is about to play against the German soldiers.
Getting out of prison doesn't mean being free. After the bloody suppression of the Prague Revolution in 1848, one of its participants, the writer František Vinický, spent eight years in prison. Returning to Prague in 1857, he tries to make contact with his former friends. The main one is his former comrade-in-arms Antoš. Of course, the man's steps also lead him to his former love Ida, who has been married to the councillor Mayer for several years. Vinicky is followed at practically every turn by the secret police, who will not allow him to get a decent job, let alone publish his new book. Police Councillor Berger makes it clear to the writer that a lot could be arranged if Vinicky would commit to cooperating...
The poor shepherd boy Michal signs up for service at the royal castle as a gardener's apprentice. He soon learns his trade well, but he also learns the secret of Duke Rosemary's curse, which forces the three royal daughters to spend every night dancing and debauchery against their will. Everyone from the entire kingdom tries in vain to unravel the mystery of the worn-out slippers that the princesses have in their rooms every morning. So Michal sets out to fight the mystery.
