Eugene among Us
Country
CzechoslovakiaCopyright
1980Production year
1978—1980Premiere
1 October 1990Runtime
74 minDirector
Petr NýdrleCategory
filmGenre
satireTypology
featuretheatrical distributionstudent filmlongOriginal title
Evžen mezi námiCzech title
Evžen mezi námiEnglish title
Eugene among UsSummary
It was not only the feature films of famous directors that ended up in the censors’ vaults during the “normalisation” period, student works arrived there too. One example is the negativistic satire Evžen mezi námi (Eugene among Us), made by FAMU student Petr Nýdrle in 1981. It wasn’t until 1990 that the film, starring Jan Kraus, made it to the cinemas. The hero is a naive country boy who comes to Prague to become an artist. Instead of a career as a non-conformist poet and writer, he very gladly settles for the post of a valued author of half-witted, pro-regime song lyrics. Despite having lost a lot of its provocativeness over the years, the film remains a bitter testimony to the times and showcases the good acting form of Kraus and Jiří Bartoška. Eugene among Us also has commemorative value in that some members of Prague’s Bohemian set of the time flash by on screen, mostly in self-styled cameo roles.
Synopsis
Evžen Les lives in a village with his father and older brother who vainly attempts to study law. Evžen longs for a different life, and he thus packs his suitcase one day and leaves for Prague. He has no relatives or friends there, and he thus finds a shelter in a cemetery in the evening to spend the night. Although he is ready to return to his village the next day, he meets the drunken prostitute Berta at the railway station. Berta takes him to a party of intellectuals and then to her place for the night. But he is thrown out by Berta's mother in the morning. Evžen must again depend on the cemetery. This time, however, he is caught by the assiduous pensioner Koutný who takes him to a police station. As soon as Evžen is released, he returns to the cemetery to get his things and meets a nice young gravedigger who not only feeds him but also lets him stay in the gravedigger's shed. Evžen finds himself a job, starting as a road sweeper, and tries to write poems. He does not get far with them, and thus decides to write song lyrics. The lyrics committee turns them down, but Evžen does not give up. Observing life around him, he tries to discover what would quickly bring him success. One day, he receives an offer to write the lyrics for a song about pioneers. Evžen hesitates for only a moment. – The television broadcasts a big concert, and its lyrics star Evžen does not mind at all that his lyrics are silly. He goes to the gravedigger to show off a laudatory magazine article. But the gravedigger already has his own opinion on Evžen's success and dryly tells the young man that his place has already been occupied. A dead person has just been buried on the spot where Evžen recently spent his nights.
Note
Film Eugene among Us was created as a graduate´s film at the Film and TV School of Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU) between 1978 and 1980 at the Department of Camera (it was the diploma work of Petr Nýdrle, Martin Vadas and editor Jan Petras). The end credits state copyright 1981, but the film was completed and shown for the first time already in autumn 1980. The next closing subtitle mentions that the FAMU management promised the authors in 1980 to give it a screening. This effort succeeded only after students´ strike in November and December 1989 – the film came to distribution in 1990.
Film online
Photos
Cast
Jan Kraus
Evžen Les
Karel Heřmánek
Lexa, Evženův bratr
Marie Motlová
matka
Lubomír Kostelka
otec
Jiří Bartoška
hrobník
Josef Somr
důchodce Koutný
Pavel Zedníček
zelinář
Jana Synková
redaktorka
Jan Schmid
redaktor Jiras
Vlastimil Bedrna
podpraporčík VB
Jitka Machová
prostitutka Berta
Ladislav Vogel
Láďa
Jiří Kodet
nový redaktor
Jiří Knot
předseda komise
Karel Augusta
popelář
Jan Vala
televizní reportér
Jiří Datel Novotný
člen komise
Jaromír Kučera
metař
Zdeněk Dušek
opilý muž na večírku
Simona Stašová
dívka v parku
Emilie Zíchová
houslistka
Trio Hvězda
hudebníci
Alena Klejnová
žena na večírku
Jaroslava Kretschmerová
žena na večírku
Jana Krausová
žena na večírku
Tereza Brdečková
žena na večírku
Monika Zachová
žena na večírku
Jana Hofková
žena na večírku
Irena Kvěšová
žena na večírku
Dalibor Lipský
muž na večírku
Peter Kršák
muž na večírku
Dušan Koukal
muž na večírku
Martin Bezouška
muž na večírku
Martin Rybín
muž na večírku
Josef Koudela
muž na večírku
Jiří Bouška
muž na večírku
Tomáš Kepka
muž na večírku
Jiří Pech
muž na večírku
Jiří Sirotek
muž na večírku
Antonín Weiser
muž na večírku
Petr Hochman
muž na večírku
pes Ajax
boxer důchodce Koutného
Petr Nýdrle
člen komise
Crew and creators
Director
Screenstory
Based on
Vladimír Poštulka (Hřbitovní kvítí – literární scénář)
Screenplay
Director of Photography
Film Editor
Sound Designer
Production Manager
Pedagogical management
Jan Kališ (kamera), Jiří Macháně (kamera), Josef Valušiak (střih)
Cooperation
Jiří Pech (vrchní osvětlovač), Z. Linhartová (fotografka), Martin Vadas (fotograf)
Music
Music Composed by
archivní, Vladimír Merta
Selected Music
Bedřich Smetana (Prodaná nevěsta /Proč bychom se netěšili/), Bedřich Smetana (Prodaná nevěsta /Milostné zvířátko uděláme z vás/)
Songs
Malou mám chaloupku malou
Singer Emilie Zíchová
Cikáni kopají výkop
Song Composer Milan Dyk
Writer of Lyrics Boris Janíček
Singer Milan Dyk
Chci povědět písní
Song Composer Václav Zahradník
Writer of Lyrics Jiří Štědroň
Singer Jiří Štědroň
Renáta Náglová
Song Composer Paul Simon
Writer of Lyrics Boris Janíček
Singer Milan Dyk
Dokud mám hlavu plnou nápadů
Song Composer Aleš Sigmund
Writer of Lyrics Michal Bukovič
Singer Petr Němec
Být mlád
Song Composer Petr Hannig
Writer of Lyrics Václav Hons
Singer Tomáš Pergl
Jásejme, Pražané
Song Composer Jan Smolka
Writer of Lyrics Jan Smolka
Singer sbor Planety
Dálnice
Song Composer Jan Smrt
Writer of Lyrics Jan Krůta
Singer Sbor Lubomíra Pánka
Stavař
Song Composer Rudolf Myška
Writer of Lyrics Drahomír Illík
Singer Petr SvojtkaAlfred Strejček
Život jsou dlouhé schody
Song Composer Milan Dyk
Writer of Lyrics Boris Janíček
Singer Milan Dyk
Obyčejní tvrdohlaví lidé
Song Composer Milan Dyk
Writer of Lyrics Boris Janíček
Singer Milan Dyk
Já a on
Song Composer Bohuslav Ondráček
Writer of Lyrics Zdeněk Borovec
Singer Pavel Novák
Balada o sídlišti
Song Composer Petr Rezek
Writer of Lyrics Boris Janíček
Singer Petr Rezek
Hádej, čím chtěl být
Song Composer Vladimír Koudelka
Writer of Lyrics Vladimír Koudelka
Singer Stanislav HložekArmádní umělecký soubor Víta Nejedlého
Píseň zemědělské brigády
Song Composer Josef Stanislav
Writer of Lyrics Olga Rambousková
Singer sbor
Mouřeníni
Song Composer Milan Bartoš
Writer of Lyrics Milan Bartoš
Singer Milan Bartoš
Production info
Original Title
Evžen mezi námi
Czech Title
Evžen mezi námi
English Title
Eugene among Us
Category
film
Typology
featuretheatrical distributionstudent film
Genre
satire
Student film
Origin country
Czechoslovakia
Copyright
1980
Production Year
1978—1980
Production specifications
withdrawal from distribution 31 December 1992
Premiere
non-distribution premiere 6 November 1980 (kino Klub, Praha)
premiere 1 October 1990 /suitable for youths/
Production
Copyright Holders
Distribution
Technical info
Duration typology
feature film
Duration in minutes
74 min
Original length in metres
2 130 meters
Distribution carrier
16mm, 35mm
Aspect ratio
1:1,37
Colour
black & white
Sound
sound
Sound system/format
mono
Versions
Czech
Dialogue languages
Czech
Subtitles languages
without subtitles
Opening/End credits languages
Czech
Awards
Vítěz
Festival: 12. festival české a slovenské filmové veselohry Novoměstský hrnec smíchu Nové Město nad Metují
1990
Nové Město nad Metují / Czechoslovakia
kolektiv tvůrců filmu
Vítěz
Event: Prémie Českého literárního fondu v oblasti filmové tvorby za rok 1989
1990
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Jan Kraus
Vítěz
Event: Prémie Českého literárního fondu v oblasti filmové tvorby za rok 1989
1990
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Martin Vadas
Vítěz
Event: Prémie Českého literárního fondu v oblasti filmové tvorby za rok 1989
1990
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Petr Nýdrle
