Melichar the Boot

Summary

In 1983, the fledgling director Zdeněk Troška brought two successful feature films to cinemas – the light-hearted summer movie Slunce seno jahody (Sun, Hay and Strawberries) and the school comedy Bota jménem Melichar (Melichar the Boot). The screenwriter for Troška’s full-length debut was Jana Knitlová, who had enjoyed success three years previously with the script for Věra Plívová-Šimková’s family comedy Krakonoš a lyžníci (Giant and Skiers, 1980). The protagonists of Melichar the Boot are also children – who experience a number of more or less amusing incidents with their parents and teachers. Little Honzík dreams about coming up with the right strategy that will take him back to his beloved kindergarten, while his older sister Jolanka is painfully enduring her first puppy love as well as an unfair accusation that she has stolen a pair of swanky shoes. The young teacher, Ms Adamová, has to contend with an obdurate janitor as well as the rigours of a new campus, which forces everyone to constantly change their footwear. A light detective story concerning the hunt for an unknown criminal who is stealing shoes and vamps frames an episodic narrative full of lively and colourful characters. This unpretentious, tastefully entertaining film portrays school as an idyllic and cheerful environment that is encumbered by external complications – whether they be a cunning thief or an architect who has dreamed up an experimental school campus without paying any heed to the needs of its users. David Rauch as Jolanka’s love-interest and Martin Šotola as the inquisitive Honzík are captivating in the lead roles in this timeless family film. The movie’s sunny atmosphere is augmented by songs from the contemporary duo Petr Kotvald and Stanislav Hložek – particularly the cult hit Holky z naší školky (The Girls from Our School). Melichar the Boot stands out as an exception in the oeuvre of the populist, audience-friendly Zdeněk Troška, pleasing both audiences and film critics of that era alike.

Synopsis

Note

The original script by Jana Knitlová about a school which was badly projected and must undergo constant repairs was much more critical. The director Vošmiková to whom the script was offered, verified with the Communist Party leadership and the director of the Czechoslovak Film whether the script was not politically incorrect. The ensuing scandal resulted in a rewriting of the script and the director Troška received his first independent commission with the instruction that the final film must be a jolly, nonproblematic comedy.