Marek Daniel Movies

A man makes a dangerous deal in hopes of saving his wife in this period drama from director Marek Najbrt. It's 1938, and Hana (Jana Plodková) is a Czech actress who has been enjoying considerable success on the stage and the screen until German forces invade the country and take control of the government. Hana is part Jewish, and under the new Nazi regime, her future as an actress (and a Czech citizen) is in doubt. Hana's husband, Emil (Marek Daniel), is a radio journalist who loves his spouse but has been secretly jealous of her fame and success; members of the Axis propaganda agencies are impressed with Emil's skills as a reporter and announcer, and they recruit him to help convince his listeners of the wisdom of the new leadership. Emil agrees, ostensively to help protect his wife; however, as he becomes a rising star among the Nazis, she's now dependent on him for her continued safety, a situation she can barely stand. As Emil becomes more powerful, his relationship with Hana begins to crumble until a simple mistake on his part puts both of them in grave danger. Protektor was the Czech Republic's official submission for the Foreign Language Film awards competition of the 2010 Academy Awards. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Two brothers are trying to earn a windfall at the expense of their grandmother's funeral plans in this dark comedy from the Czech Republic. Karel Muk (Jaroslav Dusek) works as the groundskeeper at a cemetery, where his elderly and increasingly senile grandmother Alzbeta (Olga Schmidtova) has a large and valuable plot. Karel is married to Tereza (Lenka Krobotova), who was best friends with his widowed first wife, and together they look after his daughter Vali (Valerie Vachlerova). Money is in short supply for Karel lately, so when his brother Robert (Petr Ctvrtnicek), a well-to-do but less than scrupulous businessman, and his spouse Vera (Nela Boudova) offer him a business proposition, he's willing to listen. Robert wants to get Alzbeta to sign over her cemetery plot to them so they can sell it to someone else and split the profits; however, despite her advanced age this scam proves to be much harder than anyone expected. Doblba! (aka Over and Over) was a major box office hit in the Czech Republic, where it was the top grossing film in local theaters for over a month. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The often uncomfortable bonds of family intersect with the wary political and social allegiances of the Czech Republic following the collapse of the U.S.S.R. and the end of Soviet occupation in this drama from director Jan Hrebejk and screenwriter Petr Jarchovsky. Goran and Milan (Zdenek Suchy and Jan Budar) are criminals who, while ferrying a truckload of illegal aliens into the Czech Republic, discover that one of their cargo has misplaced a baby; looking to turn a profit wherever they can, they sell the lost child to Lubos and Eman (Marek Daniel and Pavel Liska), two petty thieves who run a black-market adoption agency. Among Lubos and Eman's clients are Miluska and Frantisek (Natasa Burger and Jiri Machacek), a barren and lonely couple who are unable to adopt due to Frantisek's criminal record, which amounts to a bout of drunken foolishness during a soccer game. Meanwhile, Martin Horecky (Petr Forman) is a Czech expatriate living in Australia who comes home for a visit following the death of his father, who abandoned the family before Martin was born. Circumstances prove not to be especially welcoming for Martin; his mother (Emilia Vasaryova), who has become poisoned with race hate, invites two guests for his homecoming dinner, a half-sister he's never met (Kristyna Liska-Bokova) and her mother, who was once Martin's girlfriend (Ingrid Timkova). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi