House for Two

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1987

Production year

1987

Premiere

1 November 1988

Runtime

78 min

Category

film

Genre

psychological

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Dům pro dva

Czech title

Dům pro dva

English title

House for Two

Working title

S odstupem času

Summary

In 1987, the director Miloš Zábranský impressed with a psychological drama, whose protagonists are members of the Píšťala family. An aging mother and her two adult sons – Bóža and Dan – live in an old country house on the edge of Prague, where new concrete apartment blocks are being erected nearby. The two brothers, who are very different in character, work for a printer. While the older Bóža is silent, serene, and believes in God, the younger, foppish Dan is frivolous, both in how he lives his life and how he manages his money. Because nobody no longer wants to lend him anything, Dan buys his mother a birthday present with the money he got from selling a book he stole from the printer’s. The religiously inclined Bóža cannot countenance the theft. The rift between the two brothers is exacerbated by their relationship with their new colleague Magda. The young woman, whom Bóža is shyly in love with, allows herself to be seduced by the more direct Dan. She starts living with Bóža, but repeatedly fails to resist the charms of his brother, who doesn’t take the relationship seriously, however. Deeply affected by Magda’s infidelity, Bóža eventually becomes the victim of a tragic accident, which nonetheless looks like a symbolic self-sacrifice… Rudolf Ráž collaborated on the script for this simple story of relationships that gave the main actors – Jiří Schmitzer (Bóža) and Ondřej Vetchý (Dan) – a great chance to shine. The role of Magda was played by Ivana Velichová. At the time, Zábranský’s movie won over some film critics with its obvious spiritual impact. The character of a devout protagonist, who became a vehicle of urgent moral appeal for the author, was something totally extraordinary in Czechoslovak cinema. House for Two also makes reference to Catholicism in its imagery. The parable form, which was an increasingly popular means of communication with the viewer at the end of totalitarianism, was developed further by Miloš Zábranský in his next two films – Masseba (1989) and Stavení (House, 1990).

Synopsis

The family of P횝alas - a mother and her two adult sons Bóža and Dan - live in an old house in a village which used to be outside the capital's boundaries. Now, it is part of Prague and housing estates loom all around. The two brothers work in a printing plant. The older Bóža is a judicious man while the younger Dan has the reputation of a slacker and gadabout who is constantly broke and sits in a pub almost every day. The girl Magda starts working in the plant. Bóža takes her in and falls in love with her. Dan tries to get money for his mother's birthday but no one wants to lend him any. The youth thus steals books from the printing plant and sells them in a secondhand bookshop. His gifts make the mother happy, but Bóža reveals his brother's theft. When Dan finds out that a shy affection has begun to develop between Bóža and Magda, he seduces the girl. The sensitive Bóža intuitively "sees" the two making love. Magda is pregnant by Dan. Bóža forces his brother to ask for Magda's hand from her parents. But Dan ends up with the old man Mrázek who used to lend him his flat for Dan's love affairs. Dan soon leaves for military service. Magda gives birth to a child and Bóža marries her. Dan returns from the military and sees both his own child for the first time as well as another child which Magda has had with Bóža. He is still fond of Magda and one day succeeds in convincing her of his love. He takes the young woman to an unfinished prefab house and they make love. Bóža again envisages what is going on. He leaves home in a trance and is run over by a truck in front of the house. After the funeral, the mother tells Dan that Bóža was not his brother; he was adopted. Dan gets drunk in the evening but no one pays any attention to him. He leaves for work in the morning and wants to substitute for Bóža in everything, but no one believes him. Dan hides his tears behind sunglasses. He thinks he sees his brother on the street and calls out to him. But he only sees himself as an egoistic fop.

Film online

Cast

Ondřej Vetchý

tiskárenský dělník Dan Píšťala

Jiří Schmitzer

tiskař Bóža Píšťala, Danův bratr

Ivana Velichová

Magda Koulová

Jiřina Třebická

Píšťalová, Danova a Bóžova matka

Jaroslav Mareš

dělník Mrázek zvaný Dědek

Zdeňka Sajfertová

tiskárenská dělnice Janička

Miloslav Maršálek

vedoucí tiskárny Ráček

Jan Hraběta

Koula, otec Magdy

Jana Marková

Zdenička Koulová, matka Magdy

Pavel Melounek

tiskárenský dělník

Jan Okrouhlík

Vrána

Milan Charvát

Lhoták

Jan Toušek

vysoký dělník Drozda

Lena Birková

vrátná v tiskárně

Milan Tahotný

Karhan

J. Šebková

Jílková

J. Kuchař

vrchní

Magda Cepáková

dubl za Jiřinu Třebickou

Ladislav Lahoda

dubl za Jiřího Schmitzera

Michaela Pavlíčková

žena na přechodu pro chodce

Dubbing

Mirko Musil

hlas muže zadrženého na vrátnici

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Josef Loučím

Assistant Director

František Nejedlý, Magda Vodičková

Screenstory

Rudolf Ráž

Screenplay

Rudolf Ráž

Shooting Script

Miloš Zábranský

Director of Photography

Martin Benoni

Second Unit Photography

Jan Kváča

Camera Operator

Ivan Šimůnek

Production Designer

Zbyněk Hloch

Assistent Production Designer

Petr Václavek

Set Designer

Aleš Liška, Richard Staněk

Costume Designer

Vojtěch Kolařík

Film Editor

Josef Valušiak

Assistant Film Editor

Jana Šimonová

Sound Designer

Antonín Kravka

Production Manager

Blažej Vráb

Unit Production Manager

Evelyna Vrbová, Rudolf Mos

Unit Production Manager

Petr Jahn, Přemysl Čermák

Cooperation

Pavlína Volrábová (klapka), Alena Červená (fotografka)

Music

Music Composed by

Pavel Dražan, Jan Paukert

Selected Music

Johann Sebastian Bach

Music Conducted by

Štěpán Koníček

Songs

V Hodoníně za vojáčka mňa vzali

Song Composer lidová píseň
Singer Ondřej Vetchý

Šťastný den

Song Composer Miloslav Ducháč
Writer of Lyrics Miloslav Ducháč
Singer Rudolf Cortés

Production info

Original Title

Dům pro dva

Czech Title

Dům pro dva

English Title

House for Two

Working Title

S odstupem času

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

psychological

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1987

Production Year

1987

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 15 May 1986
technical Screenplay approved 5 February 1987
start of filming 12 March 1987
end of filming 29 May 1987
the first film copy approved 14 September 1987
projection approval 12 February 1988

Premiere

premiere 1 November 1988 /unsuitable for youths/

Creative Group

6. dramaturgicko-výrobní skupina Tvůrčí mládí, Jan Vild (vedoucí 6. dramaturgicko-výrobní skupiny Tvůrčí mládí)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

78 min

Original length in metres

2 203 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: 40. mezinárodní filmový festival Montecatini Terme

1989
Terme / Italy

Vítěz

Festival: 27. festival českých a slovenských filmů Mladá Boleslav

1989
Mladá Boleslav / Czechoslovakia
Ondřej Vetchý

Vítěz

Festival: 27. festival českých a slovenských filmů Mladá Boleslav

1989
Mladá Boleslav / Czechoslovakia

Vítěz

Festival: 40. mezinárodní filmový festival Montecatini Terme

1989
Terme / Italy
Ondřej Vetchý

Vítěz

Event: Prémie Českého literárního fondu

1988
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Ondřej Vetchý

Nominace

Event: 1. ročník Evropské filmové ceny Felix Evropské filmové akademie

1988
Západní Berlín / Federal Republic of Germany
Ondřej Vetchý

Vítěz

Festival: 21. filmový festival mladých Trutnov

1988
Trutnov / Czechoslovakia
Ondřej Vetchý

Vítěz

Event: Umělecká cena Ústředního výboru Svazu socialistické mládeže

1988
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Miloš Zábranský

Vítěz

Festival: 21. filmový festival mladých Trutnov

1988
Trutnov / Czechoslovakia

Vítěz

Event: Prémie Českého literárního fondu

1988
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Miloš Zábranský

Vítěz

Event: 2. Fórum mladého filmu Bratislava

1987
Bratislava / Czechoslovakia