This film by Karel Kachyňa remained buried deeper in the vault than almost any other – it did not reach cinemas until after November 1989. An intimate psychological drama infused with elements of satire and grotesque, it reveals a world in which even the villas of ministers and high-ranking officials were fitted with surveillance devices. The result is an atmosphere of uncertainty, helplessness, and fear – emotions deeply experienced by deputy minister Ludvík and his wife Anna, played by Radoslav Brzobohatý and Jiřina Bohdalová.

"One apartment, one night, one married couple – and a perfectly distilled portrait of communist-era paranoia. A world-class “vault film,” yet at the same time something profoundly local. I am always happy to revisit it whenever the opportunity arises." Lukáš Berberich

IFF Art Film will screen the digitally restored version.

Cast: Radoslav Brzobohatý, Jiřina Bohdalová, Jiří Císler, Jaroslav Moučka, František Němec, Bořivoj Navrátil, Galina Kopaněva, Bronislav Poloczek, Jan Teplý, Gustav Opočenský, Ivan Palúch

Sales: National Film Archive Prague (NFA)