A stylised self-portrait inspired by Kafka's Brief an den Vater. A fictional dialogue between Němec and his long deceased mother forms the soundtrack to images of Prague, following the route of tram 11: from the statue of Wenceslas in the centre to the Strašnice crematorium, where the son goes looking for the grave of his mother. He wasn't there when she died. Just like Kafka's hero from The
Trial, Němec was charged without apparent reason and had to flee abroad, an event he still greatly regrets and for which he asks absolution, sitting on his mother's grave.
This autobiography filmed on MiniDV (in the words of Němec: "Digital, but with heart and soul") is a rumination on the human experience, but also a journey past milestones in the history of 20th century Prague, such as the Second World War, the Soviet invasion and the presidency of Václav Havel.
- Director
- Jan Němec
- Country of production
- Czech Republic
- Year
- 2001
- Festival Edition
- IFFR 2017
- Length
- 69'
- Medium
- 35mm
- Original title
- Noční hovory s matkou
- Language
- Czech
- Producer
- Iva Ruszeláková
- Production Company
- Jan Němec - Film
- Sales
- Jan Němec - Film
- Screenplay
- Jan Němec
- Cinematography
- Jan Němec, Petr Marek
- Editor
- Iva Ruszeláková
- Sound Design
- Ivo Špalj
- Music
- Jan Němec
- Cast
- Jan Němec, Karel Roden, Zuzana Stivínová, Ester Krumbachová, Václav Havel