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Original film poster

Obecná škola (official English title: The Elementary School) is a Czech 1991 comedy film directed by Jan Svěrák. The screenplay comes from the pen of his father Zdeněk Svěrák. The film was nominated for the Academy Award in 1991 and is considered to belong among the best Czech films ever.

Plot

The film is set shortly after the World War II (1945 and 1946) in one of the suburbs of Prague. The main character Eda Souček (Václav Jakoubek) attends a boys´ elementary school where he belongs to a class with complete lack of discipline. After their teacher Maxová (Daniela Kolářová) goes insane during one of her classes, the schoolmaster (Rudolf Hrušínský) has to implement special measures. He employs a new male teacher Igor Hnízdo (Jan Tříska) who is said to be a great war hero. Authoritative Hnízdo immediately introduces corporal punishment which, as he explains, is not normally allowed but the school has received an exception from the Ministry of Education as a result of their dreadful behaviour. Despite his strict methods, the boys soon become charmed by the man. They love his battlefront stories and the fact that he is always armed and wears a uniform. Eda sees him as the very opposite of his own father (Zdeněk Svěrák) whom he considers to be too cowardly. Hnízdo makes the same positive impression on all people he meets (including Eda´s mother portrayed by Libuše Šafránková). Nevertheless, his persona is also surrounded by many controversies. For example his war heroism is disputed as he is unable to provide any accurate information about his military service. There is even an unconfirmed rumour that Hnízdo was only guarding goats during the war. But the boys from his class ignore all negative comments and even fight those who are spreading the rumours. Hnízdo´s reputation suffers after he is accused of having a sexual relationship with local twins who attend a girls´ school in the same area. He is forced to leave because this is not the first time he is involved in a similar affair. The formerly unmanageable boys begin to defend Hnízdo and call for his return. The accusation is finally withdrawn and Hnízdo comes to the class. He states that the way they were dealing with the accusation is a proof that the physical punishments are no longer necessary.

Production

The original story was written by Zdeněk Svěrák. He used his own experiences both as a pupil of a similar school and as a former teacher. This is the first of the films created by the successful father screenwriter - son director partnership. The others include Akumulátor I. (1993), Kolja (1996), Tmavomodrý svět (2000) and Vratné lahve (2007). The film is also notable because it was one of the last roles for two prominent Czech actors Rudolf Hrušínský (his last big screen film) and Petr Čepek (appeared in two more films before his death). The film was also the first appearance of Jan Tříska in a Czech film since his emigration to the United States in 1977.

Cast

Václav Jakoubek - Eda Souček
Radoslav Budác - Tonda
Jan Tříska - Igor Hnízdo
Zdeněk Svěrák - František Souček
Libuše Šafránková - Mrs. Součková
Rudolf Hrušínský - schoolmaster
Rudolf Hrušínský Jr. - Tonda´s father
Eva Holubová - Tonda´s mother
Petr Čepek - Josef Mrázek (aka fakir Rádži Tamil)
Boleslav Polívka - Plíha
Ondřej Vetchý - tram driver
Irena Pavlásková - tram driver´s wife
Daniela Kolářová - teacher Maxová

Personnel

Jan Svěrák - director
Zdeněk Svěrák - story, screenplay
Jiří Svoboda - music
Frantiček A. Brabec - director of photography
Jiří Kříž - sound

External links

This film article about a 1990s comedy film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

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 ==Plot==
-The film is set shortly after the [[World War II]] ([[1945]] and [[1946]]) in one of the suburbs of [[Prague]]. The main character Eda Souček ([[Václav Jakoubek]]) attends a boys´ elementary school where he belongs to a class with complete lack of discipline. After their teacher Maxová ([[Daniela Kolářová]]) goes insane during one of her classes, the schoolmaster ([[Rudolf Hrušínský]]) has to implement special measures. He employs a new male teacher Igor Hnízdo ([[Jan Tříska]]) who is said to be a great war hero. Authoritative Hnízdo immediately introduces [[corporal punishment]] which, as he explains, are not allowed but the school has received an exception from the Ministry of Education as a result of their dreadful behaviour. Despite his strict methods, the boys soon become charmed by the man. They love his battlefront stories and the fact that he is always armed and wears a [[uniform]]. Eda sees him as the very opposite of his own father ([[Zdeněk Svěrák]]) whom he considers to be too cowardly. Hnízdo makes the same positive impression on all people he meets (including Eda´s mother portrayed by [[Libuše Šafránková]]). Nevertheless, his persona is also surrounded by many controversies. For example his war heroism is disputed as he is unable to provide any accurate information about his military service. There is even an unconfirmed rumour that Hnízdo was only guarding goats during the war. But the boys from his class ignore all negative comments and even fight those who are spreading the rumours. Hnízdo´s reputation suffers after he is accused of having a sexual relationship with local twins who attend a girls´ school in the same area. He is forced to leave because this is not the first time he is involved in a similar affair. The formerly unmanageable boys begin to defend Hnízdo and call for his return. The accusation is finally withdrawn and Hnízdo comes to the class. He states that the way they were dealing with the accusation is a proof that the physical punishments are no longer necessary.
+The film is set shortly after the [[World War II]] ([[1945]] and [[1946]]) in one of the suburbs of [[Prague]]. The main character Eda Souček ([[Václav Jakoubek]]) attends a boys´ elementary school where he belongs to a class with complete lack of discipline. After their teacher Maxová ([[Daniela Kolářová]]) goes insane during one of her classes, the schoolmaster ([[Rudolf Hrušínský]]) has to implement special measures. He employs a new male teacher Igor Hnízdo ([[Jan Tříska]]) who is said to be a great war hero. Authoritative Hnízdo immediately introduces [[corporal punishment]] which, as he explains, is not normally allowed but the school has received an exception from the Ministry of Education as a result of their dreadful behaviour. Despite his strict methods, the boys soon become charmed by the man. They love his battlefront stories and the fact that he is always armed and wears a [[uniform]]. Eda sees him as the very opposite of his own father ([[Zdeněk Svěrák]]) whom he considers to be too cowardly. Hnízdo makes the same positive impression on all people he meets (including Eda´s mother portrayed by [[Libuše Šafránková]]). Nevertheless, his persona is also surrounded by many controversies. For example his war heroism is disputed as he is unable to provide any accurate information about his military service. There is even an unconfirmed rumour that Hnízdo was only guarding goats during the war. But the boys from his class ignore all negative comments and even fight those who are spreading the rumours. Hnízdo´s reputation suffers after he is accused of having a sexual relationship with local twins who attend a girls´ school in the same area. He is forced to leave because this is not the first time he is involved in a similar affair. The formerly unmanageable boys begin to defend Hnízdo and call for his return. The accusation is finally withdrawn and Hnízdo comes to the class. He states that the way they were dealing with the accusation is a proof that the physical punishments are no longer necessary.
 ==Production==