Pavel Liska Movies

A quirky, low-key naturalistic drama from director Bohdan Slama, Divoke vcely (aka Wild Bees) takes a lingering peek into the quiet lives of the citizens of Northern Moravia. Lonely farmer Kaja (Zdenek Rauser) lives with his father, brother and grandmother on the country farm. Intensely attracted to beautiful grocery clerk Bozhka (Tatiana Vilhelmova), Kaja's advances are eschewed in favor of town Michael Jackson impersonator Lada (Pavel Liska), who also happens to be the father of Bozhka's child. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A man who fears he's edging into madness gets a fresh perspective on what insanity really means in this frantic, visually inventive black comedy from Czech auteur Jan Svankmajer. Jean (Pavel Liska) is a deeply troubled man who has been haunted by violent hallucinations since the death of his mother, who was committed to a mental institution when she passed on. While arranging his mother's funeral, Jean meets a fellow inmate who claims to be the Marquis de Sade (Jan Triska), and lives as if he's in 18th Century France rather than the Czech Republic in 2005. Jean strikes up an alliance with de Sade, though they can hardly be called friends, and after becoming an unwilling accomplice to de Sade's debauchery, Jean joins him at a hospital run by Dr. Murlloppe (Jaroslav Dusek), who offers "Purgative Therapy" for people who aren't mad but could be in the future. Jean falls for a beautiful nurse named Charlota (Anna Geislerova) who claims she's being held at the hospital against her will; in time, Jean hatches a plan to liberate her and the inmates, though he learns the truth is even more disturbing than he's been led to believe. Punctuated by animated tableaux in which raw meat scampers about the screen through the magic of stop-motion animation, Lunacy (aka Sileni) was inspired in part by the short stories of Edgar Allan Poe as well as the writings of de Sade, which are quoted liberally in the film. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this updated and broadly revised adaptation of Dostoyevsky's novel The Idiot, Navrat Idiota follows Frantisek (Pavel Liska), a young man whose intelligence does not appear to be overwhelming. As Frantisek waits in a train station, he spots Anna (Anna Geislerova), a beautiful young woman who is running for the same train he will be taking. Anna ends up dumping a carton of yogurt on him, and she later discovers that they've been assigned the same sleeping car. Arriving in town, Frantisek observes a young couple (Olga (Tatiana Vihelmova) and Emil (Jiri Langmajer)) breaking up, and later that night he attends a dance, where he sees Anna yet again. After the dance, Anna discovers that Frantisek has nowhere to go and offers to let him stay at her flat for the night. In time, Anna begins to confide in Frantisek, as do Olga and Emil, though he has a secret that could in time cause serious problems for them all. Navrat Idiota was written and directed by Sasa Gedeon, who made a made a big splash with his first film, Indinaske Leto. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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