Apart from his more serious works (Kočár do Vídně [A Carriage Going to Vienna, 1966]; Noc nevěsty [The Nun’s Night, 1967]; Ucho [The Ear, 1970]), screenwriter Jan Procházka also tried his hand at the comedy genre. This 1968 film about the bespectacled Solnička family is told from the point of view of Jana, an accident-prone 12-year-old who has again landed herself in hospital. When she returns, she and her older sister Zuza realise that something has changed at home. They come to the conclusion that their parents are about to get divorced. Fortunately, the truth is a happy contrast: there’s going to be a new baby in the family. After director Jan Valášek’s untimely death, the film was completed by director Karel Kachyňa. A fast-paced and witty story, it stars child non-actors Bohumila Houdková and Jarmila Srbová alongside experienced actors (Jiřina Jirásková, Vladimír Menšík, Jiřina Šejbalová, Bohuš Záhorský), who were even engaged for the smaller parts.
Everybody wears glasses in the family of twelve-year old Jana, and everybody is also quite mad. Jana often has bad luck – one time she breaks her arm, another time her leg or something else. The family always visits her in the hospital, and when the girl returns home, there are always many gifts waiting for her. Upon her most recent return, Jana notices that things are out of tune between the parents and that father does not sleep with mother in the bedroom. She reveals to her older sister Zuza her worries that their parents want to get divorced. Both girls begin to act immediately, trying to find out first if the parents have someone else. The first investigation shows that the parents do not have anybody. That is worth a great celebration, to which their grandmother brings her brand new groom. But when daddy unexpectedly produces tickets to the circus, the joy is over - for, according to the experience of other children, the parents always begin with the circus, then buy ice cream for the kids and eventually take them for a boat ride to announce their divorce. It seems that the parents of Jana and Zuza are following exactly this scenario. The girls are sad but everything changes in an instant when their puzzled daddy announces that they will have another baby. The boisterous celebrations result in an involuntary bath under a weir, where Jana ends up with another fractured bone.
The director, Jan Valášek, died on the 27th of January 1968 while finishing work on the film, which was consequently finished by Karel Kachyňa. The opening titles of the film, however, present only the name of Jan Valášek.
Jana Solničková
Zuza, starší sestra Jany
maminka Solničková
tatínek Luděk Solnička
Jedličková, babička Solničkových
zelinář Skoumal, babiččin ženich
školník
primář
soused Mašát
učitel matematiky
učitelka
učitelka dějepisu
učitel
příslušník VB
rotný VB
krásná dívka
ledař
divák v kině
zmrzlinářka
žák Růžička
prodavačka
chlapeček s pistolkou
zdravotní sestra
zdravotní sestra
Janin spolužák
kluk v telefonní budce
artistka
žena na ulici
Jan Valášek, Karel Kachyňa (dokončení)
Stanislava Hutková
Antonín Stránský (fotograf)
FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán Koníček)
Naše bláznivá rodina
Naše bláznivá rodina
Our Crazy Family
Ta naše bláznivá rodina
film
featuretheatrical distribution
comedy
Czechoslovakia
1968
1967
literary Screenplay approved 22 May 1967
technical Screenplay approved 10 July 1967
start of filming 2 August 1967
end of filming 30 September 1967
the first film copy approved 16 August 1968
projection approval 30 August 1968
withdrawal from distribution 31 August 1976
premiere 31 October 1968 /suitable for youths/ (kina 64 U Hradeb /2 týdny/, Klub /1 týden od 21. 11./ a Městská knihovna /1 týden od 21. 11./, Praha)
premiere 7 November 1968 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)
Tvůrčí skupina Švabík – Procházka, Jan Procházka (vedoucí dramaturg tvůrčí skupiny), Erich Švabík (vedoucí výroby tvůrčí skupiny)
feature film
74 min
2 091 meters
16mm, 35mm
1:1,66, 1:2,35
black & white
sound
mono
Czech
Czech
without subtitles
Czech