希望

Hope (Naděje, 1963), a shocking and exceptional film at the time, started a so-called "black" series of films which were openly critical of society. Hope is a story of two outcasts who officially did not exist under Socialism -- an alcoholic and a prostitute. Prochazka added a little spark of light into their hearts which society always quenched, and kindled with such care as any, even the smallest, hope deserves. A tramp, Lucin -- a living chronicle of Socialist building sites and plants -- is an unreliable old lag. His counterpart is the half tipsy Magdalena, whose house serves as a refuge for lonely pub deserters. Their love story is as thin as a curl of smoke from a smouldering rag. Lucin humiliates Magdalena because others humiliate him. Will he come back to her? The film does not give an answer. Perhaps only by its promising title. For the leading roles Kachyna chose a great character actor, Rudolf Hrušínský, and a singer Hana Hegerová -- a very unconventional combination indeed.