Czech Film Center

Synopsis

The feature-length documentary film Half Past Three is set in Transcarpathian Ukraine, a little ways away from a marble slope with the gold-lettered inscription, “Geographical Center of Europe”. This is a place where people have rebuilt cattle barns and started raising cattle, sheep, and goats and growing potatoes again. After the fall of Communism, Transcarpathian Ukraine took a strange step – a step backward. This documentary is definitely no travel story, nor does it deal with any major societal problems. It explores the relationship between happiness, satisfaction, and material conditions. It narrates the rich lives of people who know that life itself is a gift. “When there’s no money for milk, a cow must be found. When a house burns down, it must be rebuilt. But when there’s a holiday, it’s time to brew hooch…”