Don't Take the Sweater Off

Dr. Lorenc selects excerpts from older Czech films for a symposium on laughter.

The hard-working head of the farm machinery maintenance crew, Lawrence, is always in control. He knows how to keep everyone around him busy, and he loves to meddle in the affairs of other members of his large family. Above all, he has high hopes for his promising daughter Štěpánka. He wants her to become a college student. But everything gets complicated when the girl falls in love with Tomas from the neighbouring village. One of Vavřince's latest excesses is to prepare a wedding that he doesn't know is no longer necessary.

This is an engaging drama by director Karel Kachyna about the growing pains of a young teen (Jorga Kotrbova) and the hardships of a noble steed mistreated by a cruel neighboring farmer. The teen is having a hard time figuring out adult modes of behavior, and at the same time her heart goes out to the horse that is suffering under the treatment of the farmer next door to her family. As the teen adopts the horse as a friend, some clarification will be sure to come on the meaning of adulthood and the benefits of compassion.