Ondrej Vetchý Movies

Slovakian stage director Juraj Nvota makes his feature-length filmmaking debut with the comedy drama Kruté Radosti (Cruel Joys). Set during 1933 in a small Slovak town, the story involves the teenage Valentina (Tana Pauhofova) reuniting with her long-lost father Karol (Ondrej Vetchy). The problem is Karol doesn't want to let on that he is her father. He's too busy dating both Helena (Anna Siskova) and Ilona (Szidi Tobias) and he doesn't want to be bothered with kids. So he makes his friend Martin (Milan Mikulcik) take care of Valentina under the guise that he is her uncle. Cruel Joys was nominated for the Crystal Globe award at the 2003 Karlovy Vary Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

The friendship of two men is tested by war, political upheaval, and romantic rivalry in this drama from Czech filmmaker Jan Sverak, whose Kolya became an international success. Lt. Franta Slama (Ondrej Vetchy) is a top pilot in the Czech Air Force who is assigned to train a promising young flier, Karel Vojtisek (Krystof Hadek). Franta and Karel both share a great enthusiasm for the thrill of blazing across the sky, and they become fast friends; however, when Nazi Germany invades Czechoslovakia, Franta and Karel chafe under the authority of their new leaders, and they escape to England, where they join other Czech exiles in the R.A.F. While flying a mission over England, Karel crash lands and happens upon the farmhouse of Susan (Tara Fitzgerald), a young woman whose husband is in the Navy. Karel soon falls head over heels for Susan, but while they enjoy a brief fling, in time Susan decides she prefers the company of the older and more worldly Franta. As Franta and Karel struggle to maintain their friendship despite their romantic rivalry, the war finally comes to a close, and the Czechs return home. Trmavomodry Svet, released in English-speaking territories as Dark Blue World, also features Anna Massey and Charles Dance. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Jan Poutnik (Vladimir Pucholt) was born in Czechoslovakia but has emigrated to the United States, where he teaches film courses at a New York college. Pampeliska (Ingrid Timkova), a young widow from Jan's home town of Bystre, has come to America to visit, and has brought with her a pocket watch once owned by Jan's father, which she presents to him. Jan introduces Pampeliska to his close friend Adam (Adam Davidson), and soon Adam finds himself falling in love with the widow, while Jan finds his mind filled with thoughts of Bystre, some nostalgic and some poisoned by the horrors of war. In time, both Jan and Adam pay a visit to the Czech Republic, though their reactions are very different. The original Czech title of Navrat ztraceneho raje / Which Side Eden translates roughly into English as Return of Paradise Lost. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

55-year-old Louka (Zdenek Sverak) is a gifted musician in Czechoslovakia who once made a good living playing in the State Symphony Orchestra. However, he has little use for the government, and after putting a playfully insulting statement on a government form, he's been banished from official music making. He ekes out a living by giving private lessons, painting gravestones with gold leaf, and performing at funerals. Louka also likes to chase younger women, a surprisingly number of whom are more than happy to be caught. However, when a friend suggests marriage to a stranger, Louka is unexpectedly willing to consider the matter. It seems that Broz (Ondrej Vetchy), a gravedigger and a good friend of Louka's, has a niece, Nadezda (Irena Livanova), with a young son who wants to stay in Czechoslovakia. However, she's a Russian citizen and lacks the proper papers. In order to stay, the young mother needs to marry a Czech citizen, and she and her aunt are willing to pay a "husband" for his troubles. Louka, hard up for cash and in need of a used car, grudgingly agrees to the arrangement and weds Nadezda. However, once she has her papers, Nadezda heads for West Germany to be with her boyfriend, and after her aunt unexpectedly dies, Louka finds himself in custody of his new "stepson," six-year-old Kolya (Andrei Khalimon). A confirmed bachelor, Louka knows next to nothing about taking care of a child, and he discovers that parenthood cramps his style with the ladies. However, Louka and Kolya soon become good friends, and Louka finds his outlook on life beginning to change, just as the "Velvet Revolution" sounds the call of a new era in Czechoslovakia. Kolya won both the Academy Award and the Golden Globe as Best Foreign Language Film of 1997. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

It is just after the end of World War II in the new communist state Czechoslovakia, and the powers that be have decreed that the state will maintain a sizeable army. This spoof follows the adventures of one non-combatant regiment, the Black Barons, who spent the entire wartime period working in a quarry. Now they are attempting to behave like proper communist soldiers, but even the officers haven't got even the vaguest notions of Marxist doctrine. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Boza (Jiri Schmitzer) is the responsible son who cares for his mother (Jirina Trebicka) and wayward younger brother Dan (Ondrej Vetchy). He works hard in his job as a printer and, at the request of his mother, watches over Dan, a boozing jokester. When Boza falls in love with Magda (Ivana Velichova), Dan seduces her just to spite his brother. After she becomes pregnant, Dan flees to join the Army, and Boza approaches Madga's parents, offering to marry the unwed mother-to-be. The two marry and go on to have a second child and making a home together. Several years later, Dan returns from the Army and again seduces Magda. After Boza is hit by a car and killed while crossing the street, he comes back to haunt Dan and his unfaithful wife. Even in death, Boza keeps the promise made to his mother to watch over his brother. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi