Simple Cruelties

Sad love story about Martin, who is sent to a psychiatric hospital for observation after displays of hooliganism, and Markéta who is recovering from post-traumatic shock after her mother's suicide.

The relationship between a teenage daughter and her mother is not an easy time in the life of either of them. But for Jana Burešová and her Simona, it means digging deep into their consciences and searching for sensitive places where the past can be revealed and a path to the future can be found. It is at her forty-fifth birthday party that a devastated Jana learns from the police that her daughter has secretly given birth. The next day, she visits her daughter in the maternity ward, but she refuses to talk to her because she cannot forgive her mother's lack of interest, the fault of which is that she did not even know her daughter was pregnant.

The hero of the opening story, the Postman Puppet (directed by Zdeněk Troška), works as a postman in the mountains. When his wife is taken to the maternity ward, he goes on his usual hike through the solitudes. Little Libor goes after the father of two girls (Petr Pospíchal), who longs for a son. Meanwhile, the weather on the ridges worsens sharply. An experienced mountaineer and his little friend spend the night in a makeshift shelter... The second episode of Hádanka (directed by Jan Ekl) has a criminal plot. A new father (Vlastimil Hašek) gets drunk with friends in a wine bar and the next day becomes a suspect in a murder. He doesn't remember the critical moments, but his testimony leads to the capture of the real perpetrator... The main character of the final short story True Love (directed by Vladimír Drha) is a frat boy (Pavel Zedníček) who spends whole days in pubs. He gets a harsh lesson from his wife, who refuses to let him see the baby...

A gloomy tale about a king whose pride robbed him of love, friends and power. A cruel curse is at the beginning of the story of this fairy tale based on an old Irish legend. Until the king's newly born son raises his sword against his father, there will be no spring in the Hawk Kingdom. Although the king orders the counselor Ordon to kill the child, the nurse saves him and entrusts the child to the care of a bird. He names him Christopher and raises him together with his son Janko. Twenty years later, the king succumbs to Ordon's urging to war with the neighbouring King Ubald. It is in this war that the curse is fulfilled and the tragic fate of the new king, who cannot listen to the right mouth, begins to unfold.

In the 1950s, Ludvik Jahn was expelled from the Communist Party and the University by his fellow students, because of a politically incorrect note he sent to his girlfriend. Fifteen years later, he tries to get his revenge by seducing Helena, the wife of one of his accusers.

The misadventures of the Nováci family.

A beautiful maiden lives with her father in an ancient castle. She has rejected all suitors so far. She herself does not yet know if she will ever love. To avoid marriage, she sets a condition that her hand will belong only to the one who wins a contest dressed in nothing but linen. She expects everyone to refuse, as fighting in only a linen shirt means certain death. However, one of the suitors agrees to the condition...

In the middle of the pasture stands an old oak tree intertwined with a plane tree. Bětka, who grazes sheep, calls it the apple oak. It is her favorite place. It is as if her mother, whom both she and her father miss so much, is watching her from the tree's crown. And it is here that Bětka meets a young prince for whom military glory is the most important thing in the world. Although he likes the shepherdess, he sends her father to prison for his grumbling and aversion to senseless military conquests. He says he will release him when someone defeats him, the prince. Desperate, Bětka seeks solace at the apple oak tree, where she suddenly receives not only a miraculous caress, but also advice. She will be helped by someone whose head is fiery like an autumn tree, half gold and half scarlet...

A fairy tale full of mystery, love, and heroic battles. A story about the love of Knight Cornelius and comedian Vendelin for a mysterious beauty, about whom legend says that when she cries, real pearls roll down her cheeks.

Director's memoirs of his childhood in a lively tenement house, in particular one hot summer day in 1949 when all tenants gathered to celebrate the wedding of the landlord's daughter. Small details slowly reveal that the narrator's recollection of the events may not be altogether correct.

The film tells the story of an enthusiastic young man who joins a textile factory in the late 1950s and assumes that a promising career awaits him - the protagonist is therefore constantly comparing himself to his favourite literary model, the equally ambitious Julian Sorel from Stendhal's fresco The Red and the Black. The result, however, lacks the necessary conviction, the ability to draw the viewer into his world, and remains too contrived, as the chosen period has become a mere non-committal backdrop for amorous games.

In the hot summer, a young man, Tomáš Sinek, is about to go "strawberry picking" in England. It seems that the family - father, mother and grandmother have no other worries than to send their offspring on the trip, although - as it seems - not everyone agrees with his decision. However, the situation is not so simple. It is Czechoslovakia in 1968. Tomáš spends a night with his friends and his girlfriend Tanya before their departure. In the morning, however, his father's suspicious phone calls with his colleague Vrana begin, full of secret information, his mother is making supplies and his grandmother is crying. Tomáš rushes to the station, but Prague is deserted and no trains are running. He doesn't consider the situation to be serious, so he is not too worried about the delay for a day. But on that August morning, the fate of thousands of people changed radically. It was August 21, 1968, and in a few moments the life of Tomáš, his family and his friends would turn around.

The heroes of the small-town story are former friends Standa Stuchlík and Robert Sura, who become arch enemies, and not only because of their classmate Zuzana, whom they both like. While Robert, the dude, has rich parents who spoil him and buy him everything he asks for, Standa has to earn a hard living playing in a rock band, working part-time in the boiler room and constantly defending his hobby against his parents' disdain. His only support is his uncle Edda, also a musician.