Czech Film Center

Synopsis

Shot as a historical documentary, this feature-length film almost exclusively casts nonactors. It takes the viewer through nearly a century of life in Paseky nad Jizerou, a village situated in the foothills of Northern Bohemia’s Giant Mountains. Stories drawn from family chronicles, reminiscences by the older generation, and pub legends were filmed on the same
locations they originally occurred. Many lesser roles were filled with local inhabitants: the descendants of those who lived through the events in villages made famous by Karel Václav Rais’s novel Remote Patriots. Tales taken from the famous local pub mingle with the traditional spiritualism of the foothills to create a mosaic which reflects a group memory of the village. Lofty patriotic ideals alternate with the harsh realities of the roughly-styled pub. Charming performances by local amateurs highlight two hours of fun and nostalgia set in rugged but beautiful mountains where living is no easy thing.