The King of Colonnades

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1990

Production year

1990

Premiere

1 May 1991

Runtime

90 min

Director

Zeno Dostál

Category

film

Genre

drama, psychological

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Král kolonád

Czech title

Král kolonád

English title

The King of Colonnades

Working title

Lev salónů

Summary

Director Zeno Dostál made this 1990 debut film at the age of 56. Adapted from his own novel entitled Lev (Leo), the story is inspired by the sign of the Zodiac. In Král kolonád (The King of Colonnades) the director – whose second and final film was the Jewish drama Golet v údolí (Golet in the Valley, 1995) – tells the story of the lead violinist in a Františkovy Lázně spa orchestra, and his relationship with the Jewish woman Róza. Their pre-war marriage is subject to the oppressions of the Nazi era. The man is unable to cope and becomes estranged from his wife and daughter, who both end up in a concentration camp. The devastated musician sinks into ever greater despair and alcoholism. Josef Novotný takes the leading role; director Dostál also cast the actor in his 1992 TV movie Váhy (Scales). Róza is played by Barbora Leichnerová, and secretary Valerie is performed by Ivana Chýlková. In this film, Zeno Dostál utilises largely unknown actors; the one exception is coffee shop owner Broda played by Vlastimil Brodský.

Synopsis

May 1945. At the creek is lying a shabby drunk man with a violin case. The instrument is not inside, just an empty bottle and bandage. The former first violin player in a spa orchestra recalls the old times in delirium. Before Christmas he was in the spa Františkovy Lázně as a charming violin player admired by ladies in the spa treatment. He gets married with a Jewish nurse Róza, who is expecting his baby. The joy of the future fatherhood is spoiled by anti-Jewish signs and attacks of armed groups of German Nazis, ordners escalating after the Munich betrayal. The violin player believes that it will do if they move to the Moravian spa Luhačovice. His song "The Colonnade King" has a great success here. He meets an attractive secretary Valerie. The mother of the violin player likes Róza, but she minds a bit that she is Jewish. The newborn girl gets a Christian name Terezie, and a Jewish name Ruth Rachel. In October 1940 the Národní souručenství, a new political, nationalistic party, organised in the spa a fascist manifestation. Róza is afraid and she asks her husband in vain to emigrate. The violin player's father dies and he is reclassified due to the origin of his wife to play second violin. Róza and her little daughter leave to her parents. The musician starts drinking and he has an affair with Valerie. After Róza comes back she has to start wearing a yellow star. As recommended by Gestapo, the violin player moves away from the family and he is allowed to play the first violin in the orchestra again. Róza offers him a divorce. He does not accept it, but he drinks even more. Róza tries to break her leg unsuccessfully to avoid the transport. She jumps from the table, gets wounded and the drunken husband is seeking for bandage for her. Later the desperate violin player sees from the stage Róza and the little daughter leaving with a group of Jews to the transport. After the concert he is burning notes in the pub. Valerie approaches him that he became from the colonnade king a colonnade pig. His acquaintances consider him for an informer of Gestapo and they avoid him. In the end the prostitute Lidka takes him in. Valerie sleeps with a Gestapo man. The former first violin player fights at a village wedding because of a song which he used to play for his wife. His mother approaches him that he let Róza leave in the transport. He is fired from the orchestra and he is running away with the violin to the wood. The train he is in is bombed. He survives the air raid, but in a fit of psychosis he kills a vagabond with his violin case. In his confused mind he has ill imaginations. At the graveyard in his native village he is bandaging a statue of Jesus Christ. The gravedigger's son finds him later dead. His mother is looking for him with his rescued little daughter in Luhačovice. Róza died in the concentration camp.

Cast

Josef Novotný (3)

primárius lázeňského orchestru

Barbora Leichnerová

ošetřovatelka Róza Goldsteinová

Ivana Chýlková

sekretářka Valerie Koutná

Svatava Hubeňáková

maminka Fialová

Eliška Kuchařová

Berta Goldsteinová, Rózina matka

Rudolf Máhrla

Izák Goldstein, Rózin otec

Vlastimil Brodský

kavárník Brod

Zdeňka Sajfertová

prostitutka Lidka

Marek Vašut

Voice by Pavel Nový
gestapák

Anna de Abren e Lima

Terezie Emilie Ráchel zvaná Rézinka, Rózina dcera

Barbora Sloupová

Rézi, po návratu z koncentráku

Daniel Rous

bubeník Pavelek

Milan Riehs

ředitel Hartwig

Lešek Wronka

houslista Bedřich Berka

Josef Langmiler

Voice by Pavel Pípal
primář Hrbek

Karel Urbánek

ředitel Mazánek

Martin Zahálka

kolega Václav

Otomar Krejča ml.

odbojář z Ostravy

Václav Babka

krejčí Fišer, soused Fialových

Marie Kadeřábková

dáma na koncertě

Milan Klacek

představitel Národního souručenství

Antonín Hardt

vrchní Vincek

Vlastimil Hašek

promítač Žváček

Jiří Knot

lékárník

Jiří Žák

hrobník

Jaroslav Tomsa

voják v nákladním autě

Michael Hofbauer

šmelinář s hodinkami

Václav Kotva

listonoš

Petra Freserová

Galla Macků

František Martiník

Crew and creators

Director

Zeno Dostál

Second Unit Director

Aleš Dospiva, Milan Klacek

Assistant Director

Jan Záhumenský

Screenstory

Zeno Dostál

Based on

Zeno Dostál (Lev – novela)

Screenplay

Zeno Dostál

Director of Photography

Jiří Macák

Second Unit Photography

Jiří Ondráček

Camera Operator

Vladimír Murat

Production Designer

Bohumil Nový

Assistent Production Designer

Gabriela Kubenová

Costume Designer

Jan Kropáček

Film Editor

Jan Svoboda

Assistant Film Editor

Anna Mejtská

Sound Designer

Jiří Hora

Production Manager

Petr Čapek

Unit Production Manager

Josef Štambach, Miroslava Smolová

Unit Production Manager

Petr Jahn, Pavel Čihař

Cooperation

Monika Machytková (klapka), Alena Červená (fotografka), Státní lázně Luhačovice, Jana Smetanová, Státní lázně Františkovy Lázně

Music

Music Composed by

Luboš Fišer

Selected Music

Julius Fučík (Marinarella), Antonín Dvořák (Cikánské melodie /Když mne stará matka/), Zdeněk Fibich (V podvečer /Poem/), Johann Strauss ml. (Na krásném modrém Dunaji)

Music Performed by

Josef Krušina /varhany/, Městský lázeňský orchestr Františkovy Lázně, Moravská filharmonie Zlín, FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán Koníček)

Music Supervisor

Jiří Zobač

Songs

Jsi nejkrásnější nástroj

Song Composer Luboš Fišer
Writer of Lyrics Zdeněk Borovec
Singer Josef Novotný (3)

Řekněte, lady má

Song Composer Luboš Fišer
Writer of Lyrics Zdeněk Borovec
Singer Josef Novotný (3)

Beskyde, Beskyde

Song Composer lidová píseň
Singer Josef Novotný (3)

Jenom ty mě, můj koníčku

Song Composer lidová píseň

Pětatřicátníci

Song Composer Karel Hašler
Writer of Lyrics Karel Hašler
Singer sbor

Hm hm, ach ty jsi úžasná

Song Composer Leopold Korbař

Proč ta sova tolik houkala

Song Composer Karel Vacek
Singer sbor

Čechy krásné, Čechy mé

Song Composer Josef Leopold Zvonař
Writer of Lyrics Václav Jaromír Picek
Singer sbor

Na stříbropěnném Labi

Song Composer František Kmoch
Writer of Lyrics František Kudrna
Singer sbor

Production info

Original Title

Král kolonád

Czech Title

Král kolonád

English Title

The King of Colonnades

Working Title

Lev salónů

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

drama, psychological

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1990

Production Year

1990

Premiere

premiere 1 May 1991 /unsuitable for youths/

Creative Group

Tvůrčí skupina Miloslav Vydra – Dana Dudová, Miloslav Vydra (vedoucí tvůrčí skupiny), Dana Dudová (vedoucí produkce tvůrčí skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

90 min

Distribution carrier

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