Milan has already achieved a respectable career, holding an important position as a sales representative in Morocco and living the life of an exclusive diplomat. Dana enjoys herself with her lover and, in her "spare time," naturally torments Milan. A marital quarrel at the most inopportune moment during an important business visit causes their premature departure, and Milan, who caused Dana numerous injuries in the heat of the moment, is hospitalized in a psychiatric ward. Dana naturally takes advantage of his mental shock and, with the help of her maid Bohunka and a weak-willed head physician, regains absolute control over Milan. However, a young psychologist named Táňa is also doing her internship at the sanatorium, and she immediately takes a liking to the intelligent patient…
Acting
Karel Roden's unraveling is genuinely uncomfortable to watch.
Writing
The script makes cruelty hilarious without forgiving anyone.
Direction
Pavlásková balances farce and genuine horror perfectly.
Director
Irena Pavlásková
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Made during the Czech New Wave's cynical late-90s phase, this reflects post-communist disillusionment with institutions—marriage, medicine, state power—all rotting from within.
Lucie Bílá was primarily a pop superstar; this dramatic turn shocked fans and proved she could hold scenes against Roden and Chýlková, two of the country's finest.
CZ
