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.
The husband and wife Ludva and Heduš Homolkas with their twins Péťa and Máťa and Ludva's parents - the granny and grandpa - arrive in the snowy Špindlerův Mlýn for a holiday. They promise to each other that they will not spoil the quite expensive holiday by quarrels. If somebody hurts the other one he/she will kneel as a punishment. Still on the way while admiring the panorama the family fights with a hairy young man Bradáček, who will work in the holiday cottage Radost [Happiness] as a cultural referee. Bradáček brings a full luggage of his works: pictures and small cages with birds which he wants to sell after his failure in Prague to the holiday makers. The Homolkas are awaited by the Burdas and the Nováks who ended up thanks to a wrong reservation in one room although they don't know each other. The Homolkas have two rooms, but they refuse any exchange. They live in Prague all together in a small flat and they plan to enjoy the privacy well. The grandpa is very eager to help carry an injured older female holiday maker. She stays in the room with young pretty girls and the grandpa has to kneel for flirting with them. Bradáček is not successful even as a referee of enjoyment. The Burdas and the Nováks truckle the Homolkas in vain. Heduš and Ludva experience a new honeymoon. A strong argument - three hundred crown wins in the end. The exchange of rooms will happen. The grandpa looses though the purse with the bribe while he falls on the ski. The Homolkas rake snow while they are quarrelling and accusing each other as usually.
děda Homolka
babi Marie Homolková
Heduš, snacha Homolkových
Ludva, syn Homolkových
dvojče Péťa, vnuk Homolkových
dvojče Máťa, vnuk Homolkových
kulturní referent Bedřich Bradáček
rekreantka Burdová
rekreant Bohouš, manžel Burdové
rekreantka Nováková
rekreant Hugoušek, manžel Novákové
vedoucí zotavovny
sportovní instruktorka Pavla Chadimová
rekreantka Dernáčková
Pepík, syn vedoucího zotavovny
vrchní
rekreantka u stolu
obstarožní dáma
hádající se rekreant
hádající se rekreantka
recepční Hanička
rekreant
rekreant
rekreant
rekreant
rekreant
rekreant
rekreantka
rekreantka, nejkrásnější dívka
starý muž
starý muž
dívka
dívka
dívka
dívka
dívka
dívka
dívka
mladík
mladík
mladík
Mireček, syn Burdové
Magdalenka, Burdova dcera
Jirka
žena u stolu
dívka na večírku
hudebník-pianista
Milan Kadlec
J. Sejk
Jindřich Hegr
Milan Štěch, František Jaderník
Václav Polák
Alexandra Tachezyová (klapka), Jaromír Komárek (fotograf)
FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán Koníček)
Song Composer Karel Mareš
Writer of Lyrics Zdeněk Borovec
Singer Karel Černoch
Homolka a tobolka
Homolka a tobolka
Homolka and the Purse
film
featuretheatrical distribution
comedy
Czechoslovakia
1972
1971—1972
literary Screenplay approved 22 July 1971
start of filming 20 August 1971
technical Screenplay approved 26 October 1971
end of filming 28 April 1972
projection approval 4 September 1972
withdrawal from distribution 1 December 1983
premiere 20 October 1972 /unsuitable for youths/ (celostátní)
premiere 26 October 1972 /unsuitable for youths/ (kina Sevastopol a Metro, Praha)
Dramaturgická skupina Zdeňka Dufka, Zdeněk Dufek (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny)
feature film
85 min
2 409 meters
16mm, 35mm
1:1,66
colour
sound
mono
Czech
Czech
without subtitles
Czech