Czech Film Center

Synopsis

The Past Sudetten land, Fall 1949. A small boy accidentally digs out a strange object in an apple orchard – a decomposed human skull. The story in which we learn who it belonged to begins in the hot summer of 1945... Gita Lauschmann (14) has survived the concentration camps and returns to Czechoslovakia. Upon coming home, she learns that the neighbours have confiscated the estate at which she was born. In the new political situation, her Czech-German-Jewish roots are now conveniently labelled “anti–Czech”. She is forced into slavery. The villagers try to starve her. Finally, the pregnant sister of the main tortmenter helps Gita to escape. The Presence Hot summer of 2005. The political system has changed. Gita (now 75) is a distinguished old lady who came from America to spend the rest of her life in her homeland. She returns to the village to sort out her restitution claim. She doesn’t want the stolen property back. She just wants a symbolic expression of justice. She finds out that the mayor (55) is the son of the man who once wanted to kill her. The descendants of the former villagers would not admit the crimes of the past. The girl who once saved Gita’s life (now an old woman) is about to disclose the truth that had been silenced for years… Two moments with 60 years in between. Two attempts to return home. Let's ponder how little it takes to ruin somebody's life – it only takes human small-mindedness.