CHAMPIONS
by Marek Najbrt
synopsis
Somewhere near the border, deep in the Czech countryside. A rundown bar is the meeting-place for a few guys, who have seen better days themselves. They meet to watch the World Ice Hockey Championship – Czechoslovakia’s national sport – on an old black-and-white television-set. Karel, the owner of the long-bankrupt bar, still believes in his business and the love of his wife Zdena – but she already has her eye on the elegant and vain bus-driver Milan. Neurotic Pavel from Prague can, when drunk, tell the winner of the next match. Josef is a descendant of the Gypsies – at least, that’s what the others, who make jokes about him, believe. These men put all their hope in the Czech team – and anybody who applauds a good move by the Canadians is not a real Czech, at least in their eyes.
international title: | Champions |
original title: | Mistri |
country: | Czech Republic |
year: | 2005 |
genre: | fiction |
directed by: | Marek Najbrt |
release date: | CZ 01/04/2004, SK 07/09/2004, HU 19/04/2007 |
cast: | Klára Melísková, Will Spoor, Jirí Ornest, Jan Budař, Leoš Noha, Tomáš Matonoha, Josef Polášek, Cyril Drozda, Jan Rehák |
cinematography by: | Miloslav Holman |
film editing: | Pavel Hrdlicka |
art director: | Milan Býček |
costumes designer: | Andrea Kralova |
music: | Petr Marek |
producer: | Milan Kuchynka, Pavel Strnad, Dusan Kukal, Jaroslav Kučera, Jan Otcenásek, Helena Uldrichová |
production: | Barrandov Studios, Negativ Film Productions, Czech Television - Česká televize |