Homolka and the Purse

Summary

As part of his directorial output, Jaroslav Papoušek made a trilogy of comedies in the years 1969–1972, describing the fate of one ordinary Prague family. After the films Ecce homo Homolka (1969) and Hogo fogo Homolka (1970) he completed his series in 1972 with the movie Homolka a tobolka (Homolka and the Purse). After trying to spend a relaxing family Sunday together (part I) and attempting to enjoy a visit to relatives in the countryside (part II), the Homolka family set off for a winter holiday in the Giant Mountains. Because everyone already knows that every effort at family harmony descends into pointless bickering, this time the Homolkas decide to punish any attempt to quarrel. However, skirmishes with the coordinator of cultural activities Mr Bradáček and Grandpa’s attempts to flirt with the young holidaymakers in the room next door mean that this plan soon falls by the wayside. Once again, the selfishness and greed of the Homolkas plays a major role in the story: the sextet of protagonists, who live in the cramped conditions of a small apartment in Prague, enjoy having two rooms and they refuse to accommodate the requests of another two families who have been mistakenly allocated one room between them… The effort to enjoy a lot of entertainment for little money motivates the protagonists in the same way in which it motivates the characters of other Czech comedies of the 1970s. Homolka and the Purse therefore presages a wave of comedies from the “normalisation” era which ridiculed bourgeois experiences through the thinking and behaviour of ordinary citizens. In this sense – and not only in this sense – the film bears more resemblance to superficial social criticism than it does to the darkly sarcastic works that Papoušek collaborated on in the 1960s with Miloš Forman and Ivan Passer. Despite the fact that the third instalment is the weakest of the entire series, it still offers viewers good entertainment based on naturally funny dialogue and well observed situations. In terms of acting, Josef Šebánek and Marie Motlová don’t disappoint in the roles of the grandparents and neither do Helena Růžičková and František Husák as Heduš and Ludva. The cast also includes Jiří Hrzán as Bradáček and Iva Janžurová as the pushy Mrs Burdová.

Synopsis