Czech Film Center

Synopsis

Our film tells a story of friendship and bravery in an era when bravery was an invitation to the gallows. On the ground-plan of a crime story we find ourselves in spring 1953, shortly after the death of communist leader K. Gottwald. His successor A. Zápotocký continues in the line of repressions and strengthening the position of the Communist Party in the country. Walking amidst the gray, dimly lit streets Captain Hakl is in his grey cloak. An obstinate and slightly choleric detective, emotional and intuitive, with an unshaven face and hidden pain. Hakl has been with the police for twenty-five years, having worked there during the First Republic, the German occupation, and now for the Communist State Security Service. His indifference to politics and desire for truth lead him to an increasing number of circumstances suggesting that an apparently cut-and-dried case with just one suspect is in fact more complicated. All evidence points to the Jewish community. Creeping behind him like a shadow is Major Zenke, who is brought in from East Germany as a specialist on Jewish crime. Our story deals with a fabricated case of a robbery staged by the secret police to distract attention from an oncoming national catastrophe – monetary reform. This crime against the nation, which even got out of the hands of its engineers, is among the biggest robberies in the modern history of Europe.