Jan Kraus Movies

A Czech family's lives are turned upside down when they pull up stakes and head for the big city in this comedy without dialogue from writer and director Tomas Vorel. A father (Bolek Polivka) moves his family from the country into the city, where he lands a job at a slaughterhouse. His wife (Eva Holubova) gets work at a grocery store, though she would prefer to spend more time with her husband, who seems to have developed a keen interest in a buxom blonde (Barbora Munzarova) who works at the abattoir. As the parents deal with their problems, their teenage son (Tomas Vorel Jr.), a skateboarding anarchist who shuns meat, devotes his spare time to vandalizing the butchering plant, while his sister (Anicka Marhoulova) struggles to keep up with her schoolwork. As everyone tries to adapt to their new surroundings, a pixie with a vicious sense of humor makes their lives all the more unpredictable. Skritek received its North American premiere at the 2005 Vancouver International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

One man's attempt to end an unhappy marriage takes an unexpected twist in this Czech drama. Martina (Ivana Chylkova) is a prominent politician whose marriage to Karel (Ivan Trojan) is falling apart. Karel wants a divorce, but Martina is reluctant to give him one, since she's afraid it would have an adverse effect on her career. Determined to force the issue, Karel persuades his good friend Ota (Jan Kraus) to seduce Martina, which would give him grounds to insist upon a separation. Ota, however, gets more than he bargained for when he finds himself falling in love with Martina. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The residents of a small town that exists only in the imagination find their lives reflecting the turmoil of the real world in this fantasy that bridges comedy and drama. A series of episodes follows the misadventures of people living in a village "that never was and never will be" somewhere in the former Czechoslovakia. A soldier (Csongor Kassay) discovers the local woman who seduced him (Vilma Cibulkova) has more on her mind than he imagined. A tramp (Jiri Pecha) caught stealing food finds that his St. Christopher medal comes in handy. As Germany and Russia battle for control of the nation, two children (Lukas Miscovic and Jukub Rada) watch their village caught in the crossfire. A goatherd (Ivan Martinka) eats a snake, with surprising results; a bully (Jan Kraus) falls victim to unexpected justice; and two women (Vera Galatikova and Viera Topinkova) in their twilight years look back with mixed emotions on their lives and their hometown. Krajinka received its North American premier at the 2000 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi