An Original

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1983

Production year

1983

Premiere

1 June 1984

Runtime

93 min

Director

Otakar Fuka

Category

film

Genre

comedy

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Samorost

Czech title

Samorost

English title

An Original

Summary

In the 1980s, actor Milan Lasica played a number of intriguing film roles. Among them was the part of Pavel Šťastný, a senior lecturer in philosophy who seeks to correlate his field of study – ethics – with his daily life. However, Štastný´s comfortable existence is disrupted by his daughter from a previous marriage – Eva. Despite her lack of ability, the girl wants to study medicine and hopes that her father in Prague will be able to offer both accommodation and an easy way in... Eva soon becomes caught up in the machinery of favours and counter-favours that will eventually ruin her life. The hero of Samorost (An Original, 1983), initially a confident and honourable man, is gradually transformed into an outlaw who betrays the ideals he proclaims and even basic human decency. This comic morality tale was based on a screenplay developed by director Otakar Fuka in cooperation with the story’s author Jiří Blažek. The role of Eva was a great opportunity for emerging actress Veronika Žilková.

Synopsis

Senior Lecturer Pavel Šastný lectures on ethics at the philosophical faculty. He lives in a satisfying marriage with his second wife Marie. Their peaceful life is disturbed by the arrival of Pavel's daughter Eva from his first marriage. Pavel is keen on his daughter and Marie, too, accepts her kindly. She agrees that the girl can stay with them during her studies. Eva wants to study medicine and unscrupulously expects her father to arrange it although her school results are rather poor. Pavel's friend, Senior Lecturer Oskar who works at the faculty, tells Šastný about the only chance how to get the girl onto the studies. He must break his principles and pay off the favour by doing one in return. Šastný does not want to accept this alternative, but the daughter persuades him. The first breaking of ethical principles gets Pavel to the mery-go-round of the next and further smaller or bigger favours. Living together with Eva is not easy, either - the free spirited girl thinks that she is allowed everything and that also her studies will end up well with her father's "help". Marie finally throws Eva out and also Pavel leaves the flat after a quarrel. He gets drunk in a bar and wakes up in the morning next to his tantalizing student. Pavel goes downhill fast and he and his daughter even end up in a detention centre for drunks. When released, he hides at his cottage and guards his solitude with a rifle. Only Eva enters the cottage but, in no time, she has a quarrel with her father and he spanks her for the first time. The offended Eva leaves but begins to study on the train back to Prague. The Senior Lecture lectures in his discipline again. The tantalizing girl with whom he recently ended up drunk winks at him from the auditorium.

Film online

Cast

Veronika Žilková

studentka Eva

Milan Lasica

docent Pavel Šťastný, Evin otec

Jiří Císler

docent patologie Oskar

Jana Kasanová

úřednice Marie, Pavlova druhá žena

Jiřina Jirásková

Vlasta, Pavlova první žena, Evina

Jan Faltýnek

Tonda Škarda, Oskarův bratranec

Jana Smrčková

Škardova žena

Michal Nesvadba

Jarda, syn Škardových

Jitka Asterová

studentka Kateřina Vodičková

Květa Fialová

psycholožka Olga Vanýsková

Jaroslav Drbohlav

asistent Michal

Zdeněk Dítě

Mariin otec

Stella Májová

Mariina matka

Věra Kalendová

vrátná na kolejích

Bedřich Zelenka

děkan Dobeš

Lucie Juřičková

Alena, Evina spolubydlící

Blažena Slavíčková

průvodčí ve vlaku

Pavel Vítek

medik Roman

Jana Matulová

medička Jana

Ivana Chýlková

medička Naďa

Šárka Štembergová

zřízenkyně na záchytce

Oskar Hák

zřízenec na záchytce

Jan Kuželka

opilec na záchytce

Vladimír Navrátil

soused/řidič auta VB

Milan Charvát

příslušník VB

Jindřich Sejk

svalovec/příslušník VB

Zdeněk Srstka

zřízenec na záchytce

J. Blažek

hudebník

Petr Brožek

hudebník

Daniel Fikejz

hudebník

P. Hájek

hudebník

Jiří Kocourek

hudebník

R. Máder

hudebník

B. Suchý

hudebník

M. Sládek

hudebník

Roman Škvára

hudebník

Crew and creators

Director

Otakar Fuka

Second Unit Director

Milada Mikešová

Assistant Director

Václav Křístek

Continuity

Jana Goetzová

Screenstory

Jiří Blažek

Shooting Script

Otakar Fuka

Director of Photography

Jiří Tarantík

Second Unit Photography

Jan Kváča

Production Designer

Bohumil Nový

Assistent Production Designer

František Vokřál

Set Designer

Ivo Černý, Miloš Osvald, Jiří Rulík, Ladislav Rada

Costume Designer

Svatava Sophová

Assistant Film Editor

Alena Chvojková

Sound Designer

Dobroslav Šrámek

Production Manager

Miloš Stejskal

Unit Production Manager

Luboš Vála, Milan Futera

Unit Production Manager

Ivana Chobotová

Cooperation

Sidonie Žemberyová (klapka), Miroslav Jirsa (fotograf)

Music

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by František Belfín), skupina Combo (Music Conducted by Daniel Fikejz), skupina Kvintet Kaskáda (Music Conducted by Petr Brožek)

Songs

Vyznání /Madonno má/

Song Composer Josef Dobeš
Writer of Lyrics František Kudrna
Singer Jiří Císler

Říkej mi to potichoučku

Song Composer Václav Pokorný
Writer of Lyrics Jiří Mládek
Singer Yvetta Simonová

Tovačov, Tovačov

Singer Jiří Císler

Začni psát dopis

Song Composer Petr Brožek
Writer of Lyrics Petr Brožek
Singer Petr Brožek

Setkání

Song Composer Petr Brožek
Writer of Lyrics Petr Brožek
Singer Petr Brožek

Malovaný džbánku

Song Composer Jindřich Brabec
Writer of Lyrics Jiří Aplt
Singer sbor

Do-re-mi-la

Song Composer Ladislav Štaidl

Production info

Original Title

Samorost

Czech Title

Samorost

English Title

An Original

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

comedy

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1983

Production Year

1983

Premiere

premiere 1 June 1984 /unsuitable for youths/

Creative Group

1. dramaturgicko-výrobní skupina, Jiří Blažek (vedoucí 1. dramaturgicko-výrobní skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

93 min

Original length in metres

2 657 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