In 1987, the director Miloš Zábranský impressed with a psychological drama, whose protagonists are members of the Píšťala family. An aging mother and her two adult sons – Bóža and Dan – live in an old country house on the edge of Prague, where new concrete apartment blocks are being erected nearby. The two brothers, who are very different in character, work for a printer. While the older Bóža is silent, serene, and believes in God, the younger, foppish Dan is frivolous, both in how he lives his life and how he manages his money. Because nobody no longer wants to lend him anything, Dan buys his mother a birthday present with the money he got from selling a book he stole from the printer’s. The religiously inclined Bóža cannot countenance the theft. The rift between the two brothers is exacerbated by their relationship with their new colleague Magda. The young woman, whom Bóža is shyly in love with, allows herself to be seduced by the more direct Dan. She starts living with Bóža, but repeatedly fails to resist the charms of his brother, who doesn’t take the relationship seriously, however. Deeply affected by Magda’s infidelity, Bóža eventually becomes the victim of a tragic accident, which nonetheless looks like a symbolic self-sacrifice… Rudolf Ráž collaborated on the script for this simple story of relationships that gave the main actors – Jiří Schmitzer (Bóža) and Ondřej Vetchý (Dan) – a great chance to shine. The role of Magda was played by Ivana Velichová. At the time, Zábranský’s movie won over some film critics with its obvious spiritual impact. The character of a devout protagonist, who became a vehicle of urgent moral appeal for the author, was something totally extraordinary in Czechoslovak cinema. House for Two also makes reference to Catholicism in its imagery. The parable form, which was an increasingly popular means of communication with the viewer at the end of totalitarianism, was developed further by Miloš Zábranský in his next two films – Masseba (1989) and Stavení (House, 1990).
The family of Píalas - a mother and her two adult sons Bóa and Dan - live in an old house in a village which used to be outside the capital's boundaries. Now, it is part of Prague and housing estates loom all around. The two brothers work in a printing plant. The older Bóa is a judicious man while the younger Dan has the reputation of a slacker and gadabout who is constantly broke and sits in a pub almost every day. The girl Magda starts working in the plant. Bóa takes her in and falls in love with her. Dan tries to get money for his mother's birthday but no one wants to lend him any. The youth thus steals books from the printing plant and sells them in a secondhand bookshop. His gifts make the mother happy, but Bóa reveals his brother's theft. When Dan finds out that a shy affection has begun to develop between Bóa and Magda, he seduces the girl. The sensitive Bóa intuitively "sees" the two making love. Magda is pregnant by Dan. Bóa forces his brother to ask for Magda's hand from her parents. But Dan ends up with the old man Mrázek who used to lend him his flat for Dan's love affairs. Dan soon leaves for military service. Magda gives birth to a child and Bóa marries her. Dan returns from the military and sees both his own child for the first time as well as another child which Magda has had with Bóa. He is still fond of Magda and one day succeeds in convincing her of his love. He takes the young woman to an unfinished prefab house and they make love. Bóa again envisages what is going on. He leaves home in a trance and is run over by a truck in front of the house. After the funeral, the mother tells Dan that Bóa was not his brother; he was adopted. Dan gets drunk in the evening but no one pays any attention to him. He leaves for work in the morning and wants to substitute for Bóa in everything, but no one believes him. Dan hides his tears behind sunglasses. He thinks he sees his brother on the street and calls out to him. But he only sees himself as an egoistic fop.
tiskárenský dělník Dan Píšťala
tiskař Bóža Píšťala, Danův bratr
Magda Koulová
Píšťalová, Danova a Bóžova matka
dělník Mrázek zvaný Dědek
tiskárenská dělnice Janička
vedoucí tiskárny Ráček
Koula, otec Magdy
Zdenička Koulová, matka Magdy
tiskárenský dělník zvaný Bankéř
Vrána
Lhoták
vysoký dělník Drozda
vrátná v tiskárně
Žabák
Karhan
Válková
Zach
dělník
Jílková
Novák
Pilař
Jirák
vrchní
dubl za Jiřinu Třebickou
dubl za Jiřího Schmitzera
žena na přechodu pro chodce
hlas muže zadrženého na vrátnici
František Nejedlý, Magda Vodičková
Aleš Liška, Richard Staněk
Evelyna Vrbová, Rudolf Mos
Petr Jahn, Přemysl Čermák, Ladislav Tišer (spojka)
Pavlína Volrábová (klapka), Alena Červená (fotografka)
Jan Paukert, Pavel Dražan, skupina Park, FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán Koníček)
Song Composer lidová píseň
Singer Ondřej Vetchý
Song Composer Miloslav Ducháč
Writer of Lyrics Miloslav Ducháč
Singer Rudolf Cortés
Dům pro dva
Dům pro dva
House for Two
S odstupem času
film
featuretheatrical distribution
psychological
Czechoslovakia
1987
1987
literary Screenplay approved 15 May 1986
technical Screenplay approved 5 February 1987
start of filming 12 March 1987
end of filming 29 May 1987
the first film copy approved 14 September 1987
projection approval 12 February 1988
withdrawal from distribution 31 December 1992
premiere 1 November 1988 /unsuitable for youths/
6. dramaturgicko-výrobní skupina Tvůrčí mládí, Jan Vild (vedoucí 6. dramaturgicko-výrobní skupiny Tvůrčí mládí)
feature film
78 min
2 203 meters
16mm, 35mm
1:1,37
colour
sound
mono
Czech
Czech
without subtitles
Czech
Festival: 27. festival českých a slovenských filmů Mladá Boleslav
1989
Mladá Boleslav / Czechoslovakia
Ondřej Vetchý
Festival: 27. festival českých a slovenských filmů Mladá Boleslav
1989
Mladá Boleslav / Czechoslovakia
Festival: 40. mezinárodní filmový festival Montecatini Terme
1989
Terme / Italy
Ondřej Vetchý
Festival: 40. mezinárodní filmový festival Montecatini Terme
1989
Terme / Italy
Festival: 21. filmový festival mladých Trutnov
1988
Trutnov / Czechoslovakia
Ondřej Vetchý
Event: 1. ročník Evropské filmové ceny Felix Evropské filmové akademie
1988
Západní Berlín / Federal Republic of Germany
Ondřej Vetchý
Festival: 21. filmový festival mladých Trutnov
1988
Trutnov / Czechoslovakia
Event: Umělecká cena Ústředního výboru Svazu socialistické mládeže
1988
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Miloš Zábranský
Event: Prémie Českého literárního fondu
1988
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Miloš Zábranský
Event: Prémie Českého literárního fondu
1988
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Ondřej Vetchý
Event: 2. Fórum mladého filmu Bratislava
1987
Bratislava / Czechoslovakia