Though Otakar Kosek mostly directed television films, he also enriched his filmography with a handful of feature-film outings. The children’s film Lukáš (1982) is perhaps Kosek’s best known film, for which he received an honorary mention from UNICEF, and a gold medal at the West Berlin International Children’s Film Festival. In addition to this, Kosek also made the family film Už se nebojím (I’m Not Afraid Any More, 1984), and children’s film Tobogan (Helter-Skelter, 1989). Its December 1989 premiere meant that Tobogan was mostly overlooked amidst the flurry of the Velvet Revolution. Juraj Fándli served as the cinematographer, having collaborated with Kosek on his previous feature-film outing Sedmé nebe (Great Summer, 1987). Tobogan is set around a housing estate where a group of boys spend their summer holidays. Mostly freed from parental oversight, the nosy youngsters come across a group of burglars robbing local apartments.
The elegant Mr mídek is the terror of all the boys living in a tower block on a housing estate - he keeps reproving them all the time. During the summer holidays, the boys organise an observation post on the roof. Flat robberies begin to proliferate on the housing estate. The boys decide to search out the thief. They suspect the unlikeable mídek the most. They determine to break into his flat and find the stolen things there. The only problem is how to get inside. Filip queries a locksmith as well as his father but with no success. mídek himself eventually gives Milo the keys, asking him to empty his letter box during his absence. Searching through mídek's flat, the boys run into the real thieves - two young men dressed in jeans. The men tie up Vaek and Filip and run away. The rest of the boys try to catch the thieves' car on bicycles but fail. They are fortunately helped by Mr mídek who catches up with the thieves in his car. The boys cancel their roof observation post and get into a quarrel. But they soon realize that everything is just a game, and they concordantly slide down the staircase helter-skelter.
Vašek Dostál
Jirka Trojan, Vaškův kamarád
Honza, Vaškův mladší bratr
Miloš Svátek
Filip Valenta
Jan Šmídek zvaný Vejtaha
Holinová
Dostál, otec Vaška a Honzy
Milada Dostálová, matka Vaška a Honzova matka
Svátková, Milošova matka
muž odjíždějící na dovolenou
příjemná paní
zámečník Král
skladník
Trojan, Jirkův otec
Trojanová, Jirkova matka
Valenta, Filipův otec
Valentová, Filipova matka
zloděj
zavalitý muž
manželka zavalitého muže
František Hlaváček
Vladislav Adam, Petr Dostál, Josef Šťovíček
Radomír Koutek, Jitka Zvirocká (zvukové efekty)
Věra Kopecká, Alena Pekařová
Dalimil Zedníček
Jana Vaculíková (klapka), Z. Hejtmánková (fotografka), P. Kosková (fotografka), Zdeněk Novotný (3), J. Hrubý, L. Masár, J. Machová, R. Šimko, Bronislav Sukup
FISYO (Music Conducted by Mario Klemens)
Tobogan
Tobogan
Helter-Skelter
film
featuretheatrical distribution
detective, children, crime
Czechoslovakia
1989
1988
start of filming 1 August 1988
end of filming 13 October 1988
the first film copy approved 15 February 1989
projection approval 16 March 1989
withdrawal from distribution 31 July 1995
premiere 1 December 1989 /suitable for youths/
feature film
73 min
2 082 meters
16mm, 35mm
1:1,37
colour
sound
mono
Czech
Czech
without subtitles
Czech