A Country Teacher

  • 120'
  • Czech Republic
  • 2008
With his third feature film, the Czech director Bohdan Slama (Tiger Award for Wild Bees, 2002) manifests his artistic and creative maturity. A Country Teacher is not only the best Czech film of the year but also confirms the director's status as a representative of the modern Czech cinema auteur.
Like all of his previous films, A Country Teacher is based on the director's original script, telling the story of a teacher from Prague (Slama's much-favoured actor Pavel Liska) who decides to leave the capital and work in a southern Czech Nowheresville. In search of a peaceful life and his own (sexual) identity, the teacher leaves not only the city life but also his ex-lover behind. Gradually, he settles down in the place and gets to know his fellow-villagers, the most significant of whom is the peculiar farm woman Marie (Zuzana Bydzovska) and her teenage son Lada. The meeting of the three is significant for all of them, as each of them is searching and hopes for love and attention, but further developments turn in an unexpected direction.
Next to superb acting, the film excels from the formal point of view, with impressive long takes and varying camera angles of Slama's devoted collaborator, the photography director Divis Marek, as well as a sensitive use of music. (LC)

  • 120'
  • Czech Republic
  • 2008
Director
Bohdan Sláma
Countries of production
Czech Republic, Germany, France
Year
2008
Festival Edition
IFFR 2009
Length
120'
Medium
35mm
Original title
Venkovsky ucitel
Language
Czech
Producers
Petr Oukropec, Pavel Strnad, Karl Baumgartner, Thanassis Karathanos
Production Companies
Negativ, Pallas Film GmbH, Why Not Productions
Sales
Wild Bunch
Screenplay
Bohdan Sláma
Cinematography
Divis Marek
Editor
Jan Daňhel
Production Design
Václav Novák, Petr Pistek, Martin Micka
Sound Design
Jan Cenek
Music
Vladimír Godár
Cast
Pavel Liska, Zuzana Bydzovska
Website
https://wildbunch.biz/movie/a-country-teacher
Director
Bohdan Sláma
Countries of production
Czech Republic, Germany, France
Year
2008
Festival Edition
IFFR 2009
Length
120'
Medium
35mm
Original title
Venkovsky ucitel
Language
Czech
Producers
Petr Oukropec, Pavel Strnad, Karl Baumgartner, Thanassis Karathanos
Production Companies
Negativ, Pallas Film GmbH, Why Not Productions
Sales
Wild Bunch
Screenplay
Bohdan Sláma
Cinematography
Divis Marek
Editor
Jan Daňhel
Production Design
Václav Novák, Petr Pistek, Martin Micka
Sound Design
Jan Cenek
Music
Vladimír Godár
Cast
Pavel Liska, Zuzana Bydzovska
Website
https://wildbunch.biz/movie/a-country-teacher