Czech Film Center

Synopsis

The K. Principle tells the extraordinary story of a man sentenced to life in prison for a double-murder he did not commit. Jan K. falls prey to a Kafkaesque web composed of corrupt police, judicial manipulation and ex-secret police agents. By a daring feat, his escape from a prison fortress from which no one before has ever escaped, he hopes to draw attention to his case and force a renewal of his trial. He takes refuge in the apartment of an ex-girlfriend, the wife of a fellow prisoner. His actions trigger media hysteria, Jan K. becomes a celebrity and his name becomes a household word. The strong arm of the powers that be, however, does not waver. After forty days on the run, Jan K. is apprehended and sent back to prison. When offered a choice – plea bargain to publically admit his guilt in exchange for a commuted sentence or stay behind bars forever – Jan K. does not hesitate for a second… The K. Principle tells not only of injustice and the powerlessness of the individual but above all of the principle of poltical power and Czech society’s reincarnation from a communist dictatorship to a seemingly free, democractic structure. Like the German movie The Lives of Others, The K. Principle is a timeless contemplation of the past, which influences our present.