Dr. Štěpán, dismissed for his outspokenness, returns to his hometown determined not to bend his ethical principles to the ruthless new capitalism surrounding him. When he meets a young woman who may become the meaning of his life, he must confront the tension between his ideals and the demands of a changing world.
Acting
Pavel Kříž's weary dignity anchors every scene.
Writing
Sharp dialogue navigating absurdity without cynicism.
Director
Dušan Klein
Pavel Kříž
Štěpán Šafránek
David Matásek
Kendy
Tereza Brodská
Ute
Míla Myslíková
Blažena Šafránková
Jana Hlaváčová
Tonička
Josef Somr
Libor Ječmen
Lenka Kořínková
Sylvie Vránová
Eva Vejmělková
Alena Hubáčková (Píšťalka)
Adriana Tarábková
Markéta (Jeskyňka)
Bára Štěpánová
Bedřiška
Pavel Zedníček
Oldřich Navrátil
Josef Větrovec
Tomáš Töpfer
Jaroslava Obermaierová
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Part of Klein's 'Básníci' trilogy, this captures the specific melancholy of 1990s Czech Republic—shedding communism while discovering capitalism wasn't waiting with open arms.
The title ironically references the famous Czech poem about poetic tradition ending—here, poetry itself becomes the last stubborn holdout against market logic.
CZ
