In the autumn 1928, two symbols of Czechoslovak democracy are in their prime. And so is the whole Czechoslovakia. A book, which was supposed to introduce the first Czechoslovak president Masaryk to his nation, was complete. Karel Capek found Masaryk in the garden of chateau Topolcany. He wanted to offer him some of his incomes from the book of their talks, which was created to the 10th anniversary of the formation of Czechoslovak Republic. But the president was not in a good mood, because his daughter forbade him to publish this book. This meeting won’t be easy. Čapek is in a hurry but he must defend this book and gets dragged into a vigorous debate. Debate about daughters, the world, the politics, Czechs, love and women. Masaryk shows that he is not only the father and founder of the Czechoslovak state as is described in history books, but also a man of flesh and bones. Besides his state-forming ideas and worldview, he reveals his skills in high politics and even intrigues. He is also talking about his love affair and rediscovered sexuality. This clash of an old president Tomas Garrigue Masaryk (born 1850) with a young writer Karel Capek (born 1890) has an explosive potential, even when their only weapons are their arguments.
An exceptional film to the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Czechoslovak Republic. Frankly, first I was very surprised that Karel Capek is played by Jan Budar. It was a pleasure to discover that his performance of the famous writer was very authentic. Of course there could be more in the film, but it is clear, that it was stylized as small-sized. It is taken in a theatre style and has both funny and dramatic scenes. It contains a lot of genuine historical information and actors are performing excellently. Thanks to director Cervenka’s ambitions and scriptwriter Kosatik’s erudition, all the mistakes can be forgiven.
