Jaroslav Dusek Movies

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

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

A philosophy professor leading his students on an existential excursion to a remote motel finds his views on life and death put to the ultimate test when the group is attacked by a murderous gang of undead woodsmen in director Marek Dobes' gruesome horror comedy. What better place to ponder the meaning of life than at a remote motel completely isolated from the outside world? The Halali motel is just such a place, and upon arrival Professor Reinis and his students begin their philosophical debates as to just why they have been granted the gift of life. Unfortunately for the pondering pupils, a group of deceased woodsman have also been bestowed the very same gift. Now in order to understand the meaning of life, they will have to survive one harrowing night of death. ~ Jason Buchanan, 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

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