How Poets Lose Their Illusions

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1984

Production year

1984

Premiere

1 April 1985

Runtime

98 min

Director

Dušan Klein

Category

film

Genre

comedy

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Jak básníci přicházejí o iluze

Czech title

Jak básníci přicházejí o iluze

English title

How Poets Lose Their Illusions

Summary

Two years after their hit romantic comedy Jak svět přichází o básníky (How the World Loses Poets) (1982), director Dušan Klein and screenwriter Ladislav Pecháček returned to their hero Štěpán Šafránek. The first film introduced him as an idealistic 18-year-old, leaving secondary school and taking a real-life graduation exam in the form of a relationship with the attractive Borůvka. Follow-up Jak básníci přicházejí o iluze (How Poets Lose Their Illusions) finds the protagonist and his pal Kendy at the start of their student lives in Prague. Štěpán enrols in medicine while his pal goes to FAMU to study direction. While the bohemian Kendy handles university, Štěpán has trouble keeping up with his demanding course. In addition, the money his mother gives him is insufficient and he is forced to take part-time work at the hospital. It is there that he encounters a secondary medical school student whom he gives the pet name of Little Cave (Adriana Tarábková). Motivated by adoration, Štěpán succeeds – in spite of his love rival Dr. Fast – in passing a dreaded anatomy exam. Like the protagonist’s first romance, this affair concludes with something of a cold awakening. However, Štěpán moves forward in life with an indomitable, slightly bitter optimism… In the follow-up an eternally wide-eyed, boyish outlook becomes the hallmark of the hero, portrayed by Pavel Kříž. Alongside Štěpán and the pragmatic Kendy, Klien and Pecháček expanded their portfolio with characters that they frequently drew on in subsequent parts of the “Poets pentalogy”: a carefree African nicknamed Mireček (Joseph Dielle), the jovial Moravian Venoš (Václav Svoboda), the good-hearted, libidinous Vendulka (nicknamed The Comforter) and the swot Honza (Karel Roden). Zdeněk Svěrák also appears in the episodic role of Assistant Professor Zajíc, who lectures students on the sure-fire methods of fictitious German scientist Enrich Bronštejn (1904–1969) in a seminar on systematic desk arrangement.

Synopsis

The world lost the poet Štěpán, when his first love, nicknamed Blueberry, left him and she gave her love to a more settled Mr. Nádeníček. Leaving his home town, Štěpán heads for Prague, where he is going to study medicine. His friend, Kendy, has been admitted to film school to study film direction. The fresh medical student lives in a dormitory with a Moravian eater Venoš, with Honza, who has a photographic memory and with a black African, whose name is complicated and whom they call Mireček. Štěpán finds out in panic what a huge number of books he has to study. His colleagues have it seemingly easier: Honza remembers all, Venoš is inspired by cramming and by loads of food coming regularly from Moravia and Mireček gets refreshed by erotic moments with his willing fellow student, Vendulka, called the Soother. Štěpán visits a club with Kendy. Here he meets a charming girl in blue. Štěpán cannot make do with his pocket money and he finds a ready source of money by writing lyrics to songs. In the hospital, where he starts as an attendant in a temporary job, he meets a mysterious girl. She is a student from a nursing college. He gives her the nickname, Small Cave. He fights over her attention with the arrogant doctor Fast. Despite partial failures, in the end Štěpán successfully passes all his exams and advances to the next year. He finally spends the night after his anatomy exam with the Small Cave. However, he is leaving home for holiday with sad feelings. The girl, in the end, gave her attentions to a secure future with doctor Fast.

Note

The film is a free follow up to the successful film How the World Loses Poets (1982). Then follow three sequels: How Life Smells Good to Poets (1987), The End of Poets in Bohemia... (1993) and How Poets Never Lose Hope (2004). The stories are continuously commented upon and supplemented by short animation sequences.

Cast

Pavel Kříž

student medicíny Štěpán Šafránek

David Matásek

student FAMU Kendy

Adriana Tarábková

Voice by Miriam Chytilová
žákyňka Markéta zvaná Jeskyňka

Joseph Dielle

Numira Cassa Thombe zvaný Mireček

Václav Svoboda

student Venoš Pastyřík

Karel Roden

student Honza

Míla Myslíková

švadlena Šafránková, Štěpánova matka

Josef Somr

profesor Ječmen

František Filipovský

harmonikář Valerián

Eva Jeníčková

studentka Vendulka zvaná Utěšitelka

Oskar Gottlieb

kapelník Bedřich

Jan Přeučil

docent anatomie Sejkora

Leoš Suchařípa

profesor anatomie Solferin

Zdeněk Svěrák

docent Miloslav Zajíc, katedra duševní hygieny

Akram Staněk

Voice by Vladislav Beneš
student Masařík

Lucie Juřičková

Sáša, dcera vlivného muže

Zdeněk Martínek

Janatka, vrátný na koleji

Michaela Dolinová

studentka Eva

Adolf Filip

Kendyho otec

Alena Kreuzmannová

doručovatelka

Ondřej Vetchý

student Karabec

Zdeňka Sajfertová

Květa, Bedřichova žena

Karel Koloušek

železničář, zřízenec ve skladu

Viktor Maurer

profesor organiky a biochemie Hermann Con

Zdeňka Rosolová

matka Kendyho

Hana Militká

blondýna

Rudolf Fleischer

otec Sáši

Olga Jungová

matka Sáši

Zdeněk Srstka

výčepní Karlík

Eva Vidlařová

ruštinářka

Stanislav Hájek

Voice by Mirko Musil
fyziolog docent Oldřich Musil

Z. Rozhoňová

Trunečková

Vlastimila Vlková

Masaříkova domáci

Karel Smrž

opilec v loubí

Arnošt Böhm

muž v restaurace

Eva Weissová

žena v restauraci

Vladimír Hrabánek

parťák na nádraží

Josef Janoušek (2)

vrátný v nemocnici

Petr Drozda

dlouhán

M. Pokorný

Brázda

J. Růžičková

Hejzlarová

J. Žáček

Pivoňka

Ismenia Siegelová

žena s pomerančem

Dubbing

Zlata Adamovská

hlas Marcely Borůvkové zvané Borůvka

Crew and creators

Director

Dušan Klein

Second Unit Director

Milan Klacek

Assistant Director

Zdeněk Fiala

Continuity

Irena Klausová

Shooting Script

Dušan Klein

Director of Photography

Josef Vaniš

Second Unit Photography

Václav Helliman

Camera Operator

Bohumil Vodička

Production Designer

Bohumil Nový

Assistent Production Designer

Michal Krška

Art Director

Adolf Born

Set Designer

Rudolf Beneš, Bedřich Čermák, Jaroslav Lehman

Costume Designer

Jana Zbořilová

Make-Up Artist

František Příhoda

Film Editor

Jiří Brožek

Assistant Film Editor

Věra Flaková

Sound Designer

Alexandr Vrbata

Special Effects

Jiří Milfait

Titles Designed by

Jaroslav Doubrava (animace)

Production Manager

Jiří Zika

Unit Production Manager

Ivo Pitrák, Bohdan Kysil

Unit Production Manager

František Hruška (2), Václav Veruněk

Cooperation

Ivana Kačírková (klapka), Vladimír Souček (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Zdeněk Marat

Selected Music

Georges Bizet (Carmen /Toreadore smělý/)

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán Koníček), Bacily

Songs

Křídla iluzí

Song Composer Zdeněk Marat
Writer of Lyrics Petr Markov
Singer Václav NeckářBacily

Roupy

Song Composer Zdeněk Marat
Writer of Lyrics Ladislav Pecháček
Singer Oskar GottliebBacily

Žhavil Béda, žhavil drát

Song Composer Zdeněk Marat
Writer of Lyrics Petr Markov
Singer Oskar Gottlieb

Tichá putyka

Song Composer Jiří Eliáš
Writer of Lyrics T. R. Field
Singer František Filipovskýsbor

Krok se mi krátí, dech se úží

Singer František Filipovský

Velebný pane /parafráze/

Singer František Filipovský

Zdálo se mi, má panenko

Singer sbor

U muziky su já chlap

Singer Václav Svoboda

Pojď, pojď, už se nevracej

Song Composer Zdeněk Marat
Writer of Lyrics Vladimír Poštulka
Singer ženský sbor

Production info

Original Title

Jak básníci přicházejí o iluze

Czech Title

Jak básníci přicházejí o iluze

English Title

How Poets Lose Their Illusions

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

comedy

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1984

Production Year

1984

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 22 December 1983
start of filming 2 January 1984
technical Screenplay approved 24 January 1984
end of filming 18 July 1984
projection approval 31 August 1984
withdrawal from distribution 31 March 1994

Premiere

premiere 1 April 1985 /suitable for youths/

Creative Group

2. dramaturgicko-výrobní skupina, Josef Císař (vedoucí 2. dramaturgicko-výrobní skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

98 min

Original length in metres

2 802 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,37

Colour

colour

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech

Awards

Vítěz

Festival: 7. festival české a slovenské filmové veselohry Nové Město nad Metují

1985
Nové Město nad Metují / Czechoslovakia
Dušan Klein

Vítěz

Festival: 23. festival českých a slovenských filmů Praha

1985
Praha / Czechoslovakia