Great Torments

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1974

Production year

1974

Premiere

17 January 1975

Runtime

87 min

Category

film

Genre

psychological

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Velké trápení

Czech title

Velké trápení

English title

Great Torments

Summary

Helena Šmahelová’s novel Velké trápení (Great Torments) was first published in 1959. It then served as popular reading material for several generations of young girls. In 1974, Jiří Hanibal adapted the work for the big screen, adding to his filmography of stories dealing with the joys and woes of adolescents. The script for this psychological drama was written by blacklisted writer František Pavlíček; his work was concealed in the titles by attributing the credit to colleagues Otto and Bohumila Zelenka instead. The film tells the story of 13-year-old Jana (Renata Mašková), who finds herself in a children’s home following the divorce of her parents. Set to spend the summer holidays with her father (Eduard Cupák), disappointment beckons as he fails to provide a secure environment for the sensitive teenager. Jana sets off to find her mother instead, thinking back to her recent past. Jana Štěpánková offers a strong performance as the understanding head of the children’s home.

Synopsis

After their parents' divorce, the adolescent Jana stays with her father and the younger Míša leaves with the mother. Jana takes over the household chores in place of her mother. Everything is fine at first. But the father has no time for Jana and on top of all, one day he brings home his girlfriend. Jana reacts by cutting school, wandering around and getting bad grades at school. Finally, her father decides to place Jana in a children's home. Jana is greatly hurt by all this and her negative approach to everything and everybody in the children's home stems out of her despair. However, Jana starts gradually coming to terms with her involuntary stay, especially when she finds out that some children have much worse fate than she does. She is mostly touched by the fate of Lenka, who speaks of her mother with undying love unaware of the fact that her mother has given her up for adoption. Jana makes friends also with the local boys and the home nurse, whom she resented at first. Time passes quickly and suddenly, the summer holidays are here. Jana is looking forward to spending them with her father. She is waiting for him at the station, but when he appears with his girlfriend, Jana runs away. She sets off on a journey to her mother - first by train and then on foot. The journey is long and so Jana sleeps over in a haystack. In the morning she meets her sister Míša and then she sees her mother and runs to her happily.

Note

In the introductory titles of the film Bohumila Zelenková and Otto Zelenka their names be used instead of the screenplay writer František Pavlíček, who could not be credited as the author at the time for political reasons.

Cast

Renata Mašková

Jana Tománková, chovanka dětského domova

Eduard Cupák

Tománek, Janin otec

Kateřina Žalská

Míša, Janina mladší sestra

Jana Štěpánková

vedoucí dětského domova

Božena Böhmová

vychovatelka Bojanová

Marie Motlová

kuchařka Tóny

Hana Packertová

vychovatelka Marie

Vanda Švarcová

vychovatelka Emilka

Bohumil Šmída

průvodčí

Jitka Zelenohorská

Věra, Tománkova přítelkyně

Marie Vrábelová

Alena Zemanová zvaná Lenka

Zuzana Zeithamlová

Julka

Kateřina Šimůnková

Liduška, Julčina sestra

Táňa Václavová

Milena

Marek Vašut

Vojta, vůdce chlapecké party

Martin Slabý

František, Janin kamarád

Marek Hlavica

Zdeněk

Josef Vytasil

Jaroušek zvaný Žrout

Barbora Stehlíková

dívka

Irena Kozárová

dívka

Pavlína Valeriánová

dívka

Jan Hrušínský

nádražní dělník

Vladimír Štros

host v kavárně/cestující ve vlaku

Věra Budilová

cestující ve vlaku/návštěvnice domova

Bohuslav Kupšovský

cestující ve vlaku

Zdeněk Skalický

cestující ve vlaku

Marcel Bogosta

cestující ve vlaku

Karel Hovorka

cestující ve vlaku

Slávka Hamouzová

cestující ve vlaku

Věra Petáková

host v kavárně

Bohumil Koška

host v kavárně

Jindřich Faktor

host v kavárně

Viktor Riebauer

host v kavárně

Petr Skarke

návštěvník domova

Marie Popelková

návštěvnice domova

Jiřina Bílá

návštěvnice domova

Gustav Vondráček

návštěvník domova

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Milan Jonáš

Assistant Director

Vilém Kijonka

Continuity

Helena Pokorná

Based on

Helena Šmahelová (Velké trápení – román)

Screenplay

František Pavlíček (pod jménem Bohumily Zelenkové a Otty Zelenky)

Shooting Script

Jiří Hanibal

Director of Photography

Jan Novák

Second Unit Photography

Ivan Wurm

Camera Operator

Luděk Kopal

Production Designer

Jiří Hlupý

Set Designer

Jiří Žák, Antonín Chloupek, Ladislav Winkelhöfer

Costume Designer

Marta Kaplerová

Film Editor

Zdeněk Stehlík

Sound Designer

Ladislav Hausdorf

Special Effects

Ludvík Malý, Josef Staněk

Production Manager

Josef Ouzký

Unit Production Manager

Růžena Hulínská, Jiří Mařas

Unit Production Manager

Helena Hánová

Cooperation

J. Hofmannová (klapka), Ivan Minář (fotograf), Miroslav Hrachovec

Music

Music Composed by

Jiří F. Svoboda

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán Koníček)

Songs

Horo, horo, vysoká jsi

Singer Marie Motlová

Já se dnes dopoledne žením /muzikál My Fair Lady/

Song Composer Frederick Loewe

Production info

Original Title

Velké trápení

Czech Title

Velké trápení

English Title

Great Torments

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

psychological

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1974

Production Year

1974

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 22 January 1974
start of filming 15 February 1974
technical Screenplay approved 22 February 1974
end of filming 30 August 1974
projection approval 2 September 1977

Premiere

premiere 16 January 1975 /suitable for youths/ (kino Letka, Praha)
premiere 17 January 1975 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)

Creative Group

Dramaturgická skupina Oty Hofmana, Ota Hofman (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

87 min

Original length in metres

2 441 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,66

Colour

colour

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech

Awards

Vítěz

Exhibition: 7. přehlídka filmů pro děti Ostrov nad Ohří

1975
Ostrov nad Ohří / Czechoslovakia
Zuzana Fišerová

Vítěz

Festival: 15. festival filmů pro děti Gottwaldov

1975
Zlín / Czechoslovakia

Vítěz

Festival: 15. festival filmů pro děti Gottwaldov

1975
Zlín / Czechoslovakia
Renata Mašková

Vítěz

Festival: 4. festival dětských filmů České Budějovice

1975
České Budějovice / Czechoslovakia

Vítěz

Festival: 15. festival filmů pro děti Gottwaldov

1975
Zlín / Czechoslovakia