Černí baroni

Life of Czechoslovak soldiers in a military unit for the so called "politically unreliable" - the Technical auxiliary battalions, aka "the black barons". Although it might seem like a political satire and it's mostly funny, it shows the reality and the absurdity of military service under the communist regime. Based on a novel by Miloslav Svandrlik.

The story of Doctor Čeněk Dobešek - a decent, kind man who seems almost out of place in today’s world. Though he’s a conscientious physician, he hasn’t learned to exploit his calling for personal gain the way many of his former classmates or hospital colleagues do. Happily settled in a modest two-room apartment with his lovely wife Zuzana and his dreadful mother-in-law Marie Košvancová, Čeněk cheerfully drops everything at any hour to answer the doorbell and tend to whoever needs him. His humble generosity scandalizes Marie, who’d much rather have a “real” Doctor as a son-in-law: someone famous, wealthy, and who never works for free, unlike Čeněk.