Bison

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1989

Production year

1989

Premiere

1 December 1990

Runtime

85 min

Director

Moris Issa

Category

film

Genre

children

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Bizon

Czech title

Bizon

English title

Bison

Summary

A lonely young hero encounters a friendly being from outer space. It is a motif that reliably works – and not just in Hollywood films. Given the reality of Czech productions, of course, here the theme is realised on a far more modest scale than in American blockbusters. Moris Issa, a Syrian graduate of Prague film academy FAMU, and his former professor Elmar Klos, co-directed this children’s film from 1989. The plot sees an 11-year-old hero, Honzík, escape his gloomy reality into a world of playful imagination. He names the extraterrestrial Bizon (and, unlike the boy’s parents, the alien is fun to be around). This film for children is also captivating thanks to the performance of the lead actor, whilst the sure hand of Oscar-winning director and true doyen Klos, for whom Bizon (Bison) was the swan song of an acclaimed filmography, cannot be denied.

Synopsis

The eleven-year old Honza Havlík lives with his alcoholic father and a grandmother. The mum left them because she could not bear her husband's drinking. Honzík has just one friend, Jana. He meets a big nude man by the river and communicates with him through an "inner voice". Then he runs to him again in the ZOO in the bison's pen, again establishes contact with him and names him "Bison". In a park, Honza catches Bison's "transmission". Bison begs him to stay with him - he is from another star and cannot return before doing a good deed. The boy eventually finds him behind the bars of a mental asylum. The children help him escape. Honza reveals his meetings with an extra-terrestrial to his mother and the mum promises to hide Bison in a storehouse. Honza brings the man a small necklace in the shape of a little blue star. Bison does his best to do good deeds. He protects Honza's mother from the drunks, he moves furniture for the old lady Burešová when she gets her walls decorated; he takes her to the airport to let her say farewell to Jana who is leaving for the seaside with her parents. He even saves a guinea pig, forgotten in the flat of Doctor Helebrant who left for a vacation. After a series of good deeds, Bison can return home and Honza loses contact with him. But many things in his life changed. His parents reconciled and Mrs Burešová died, but before she died, she sent him a gift from Bison - a small globe. And now, he can also talk to Jana about what happened and whether it was normal.

Film online

Cast

Adam Parma

Honza Havlík

Klára Jandová

Jana, Honzova kamarádka

Ján Miltner

Voice by Jan Řeřicha
Bizon

Gabriela Osvaldová

Marie Havlíková, Honzova matka

Jaromír Meduna

František Havlík, Honzův otec

Eva Matalová

babička Honzy

Marcela Martínková

učitelka hudby Smetanová

Zlata Hajská

Matoušková, Janina babička

Radim Vašinka

zahradník Bláha

Milan Charvát

vrátný Vávra

Ludvík Pozník

vedoucí Zeleniny

Lucie Vojtěchová

Josef Kubíček

muž v námořnickém tričku

Crew and creators

Director

Moris Issa

Second Unit Director

Petr Hartl

Assistant Director

Renata Čihulková, Jarmila Čajová

Screenstory

Moris Issa

Screenplay

Moris Issa

Director of Photography

Ivan Šlapeta

Second Unit Photography

Jiří Maxa

Camera Operator

Vladimír Křepelka

Production Designer

Boris Moravec

Assistent Production Designer

Olga Rosenfelderová

Set Designer

Ivan Břešťák, Jaroslav Česal, Evžen Petr, Petr Průša, Marek Šíma

Costume Designer

Petr Kolínský

Film Editor

Dalibor Lipský

Sound Designer

Václav Vondráček

Production Manager

Václav Eisenhamer

Unit Production Manager

Hana Štefanová, Ladislava Kašáková

Unit Production Manager

Eduard Zanner, Šárka Pechanová

Cooperation

Elmar Klos (režijní spolupráce), Alice Šafránková (klapka), Miroslav Jirsa (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Marek Eben

Songs

Tečka, čárka

Song Composer Marek Eben
Writer of Lyrics Marek Eben
Singer Marek Eben

Za malou chvíli

Song Composer Marek Eben

Hvězdy ve Splitu nad mořem /Daleko me moj Split/

Song Composer Ivo Tijardović
Writer of Lyrics Jiří Voldán
Singer Zlata Hajská

Cikánský baron jsem já

Song Composer Johann Strauss
Writer of Lyrics Jiří Aplt
Singer Klára Jandová

Production info

Original Title

Bizon

Czech Title

Bizon

English Title

Bison

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

children

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1989

Production Year

1989

Production specifications

projection approval 1990
withdrawal from distribution 1 October 1993

Premiere

premiere 1 December 1990 /suitable for youths/

Creative Group

4. tvůrčí skupina, Marcela Pittermannová (vedoucí 4. tvůrčí skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

85 min

Original length in metres

2 416 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: 30. festival filmů pro děti Zlín

1990
Zlín / Czechoslovakia

Vítěz

Event: Prémie Českého literárního fondu v oblasti filmové tvorby za rok 1989

1990
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Marek Eben

Vítěz

Event: Prémie Českého literárního fondu v oblasti filmové tvorby za rok 1989

1990
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Moris Issa

Vítěz

Festival: 30. festival filmů pro děti Zlín

1990
Zlín / Czechoslovakia
Kristián Suda

Vítěz

Exhibition: 22. národní přehlídka filmů pro děti Ostrov

1990
Ostrov nad Ohří / Czechoslovakia