Czech Film Center

Synopsis

Věra Chytilová’s film Troublemakers could easily carry the subheading “Women for Themselves.” The director’s plan was to capture the broadest possible sample of women who not only look after themselves but also have higher ambitions – to reform and administer public affairs. All in all they are members, candidates or supporters of a political party that advocates equal chances for all – men and women. They are interested in “women’s issues,” i.e. what are men’s and women’s relationships in the workplace, in society, and at home, what prospects women wanting to enter politics have, what options are available to them once they have entered the political scene, what maternity leave or career building means for young employed women, etc. Chytilová crisscrossed the whole country seeking women of varying ages, professions, and social statuses – mothers, young single women, childless women, divorced women,public servants, activists, physicians, lawyers, teachers, and so on, and gave their opinions a platform. In an imaginative assembly, she then created an enlightening as well as entertaining mosaic of opinions, whose consequence is to not only point out the problems, but also the pseudo-problems, of the female population in the Czech Republic.