Boleslav Polívka Movies

A trio of friends residing in an urban Czech housing project finds that happiness can come from the place where you least expect it in this quirky and heartfelt drama from Wild Bees director Bohdan Sláma. As the shadow of the country's largest chemical factory looms large over their bleak industrial suburb, Monika (Tatiana Vilhelmová), Tonik (Pavel Liska), and Dasha (Anna Geislerová) hold out hope for a brighter future in another place. While supermarket employee Monika's dreams are built around the hope that she will someday venture to America to be with her boyfriend, George, Tonik secretly pines for Monika, and single mother Dasha finds comfort in the arms of a married man while slowly drifting from reality. As Tonik flees his conservative parents to live on the farm of his eccentric aunt, Dasha's grip on reality finally slips -- leaving her two young children in the care of Tonik and Monika. As things begin to look up for the willing but inexperienced new parents, a lifetime of happiness is finally within their reach. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A filmmaker has to deal with obnoxious producers, uncooperative weather, and a troublesome cast -- not all of whom have opposable thumbs -- in this satiric comedy-drama. Rosta (Boleslav Polivka) is a director whose latest project is an ambitious film that draws parallels between the lives of humans and animals, and as illustration he's cast the members of a local nudist colony, who are to interact naked with a group of apes. However, the cold weather doesn't do much for the esprit de corps of his human cast, while the primates predictably refuse to take direction. Meanwhile, Rosta's backers are demanding more comic relief, the screenwriter argues for a more emotional approach, and Rosta's family shows up unannounced, getting in the way despite their best intentions. Vyhnani z Raje was directed by veteran filmmaker Vera Chytilova and was screened at the 2001 Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Czech Republic. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

At a summer resort somewhere in Europe, Marcelo (famed comedian Boleslav Polivka), a lifeguard and cabaret performer, wants nothing more than to tour Italy with his wife and performing partner, Eliska (Zuzana Stivinova). But in the meantime, Marcelo and Eliska spend lots of time kidding around with their friends, an endeavor made all the more entertaining when someone spikes the soup with magic mushrooms! ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

Father Holy is having a crisis of faith and spirit. Though the Soviets are finally leaving his country to govern itself, years of struggling with communist bureaucrats and corrupt clerics of higher rank have taken their toll. When he learns that the parish he has fought so hard to maintain is to be closed down because his flock does not care enough to fight and does not have enough money to fund it, Holy becomes doubly depressed. As the bitter icing on his unjust desserts, the married woman whom Holy has secretly and chastely loved for years, is dying slowly from cancer. To save the church, Holy teams up with a curmudgeonly sculptor and hatches a devilish plot to dupe the authorities. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Who knows what evil lurks behind your television screen? Czech writer/director Jan Sverak offers a possibility in this satirical tale of televisions that suck the life-force from every living thing. Our hero is Olda, who found himself suffering from extreme lethargy after he is interviewed on a tabloid television show. The puzzled doctors at the hospital have no clue why he is so weak and tired. But Fisarek, a strange natural healer, suggests that the cause is chronic energy loss. Fisarek teaches Olda techniques for drawing energy from the life-forces of people (especially children), trees, and art. To gain strength, Olda must also engage in tantric sex with beautiful women at a Turkish spa. The trouble is, every time Olda is near a TV screen he becomes totally lethargic again. Olda is making love with Anna, his new love, when a sprung mousetrap activates a TV remote that sucks Olda's power, bounces it off a satellite and uses it to power a pornographic program. Olda, realizing the problem becomes a television avenger, vowed to stopping the demonic screens at all costs. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Perda (Bolek Polivka) is a member of a theatrical company in the provinces. Usually he plays only small parts, though he has had ambitions of playing featured roles. When he eventually does get his longed-for promotion, he is so petrified by the responsibility, and so preoccupied with stuff that has nothing to do with performing that he cannot do his part, and walks off the stage. Surprisingly, he is not fired for this, but is simply given a bit part, which he fluffs, and is then given the offstage responsibility of being stage manager, responsible for everyone's entrances, scene changes and so on. He even screws this up, but his efforts this time have had the effect of transforming what was an unsucessful drama into a popular comedy. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi