Chasing the Cat
Country
CzechoslovakiaCopyright
1979Production year
1979Premiere
4 April 1980Runtime
76 minDirector
Milan MuchnaCategory
filmGenre
narrativeTypology
featuretheatrical distributionlongOriginal title
Hon na kočkuCzech title
Hon na kočkuEnglish title
Chasing the CatSummary
The sexual awakenings and misadventures of teenagers became a theme in Czech cinema during the late 1970s and early 1980s within the genre of films “about youth and for youth”. One film that addresses such motifs, and which certainly does not deserve to sink into the ranks of the forgotten, is a Milan Muchna comedy made in 1979. The film’s heroine is a naïve student named Bláža living in a small town. She decides that it’s time to lose her virginity. After failing to do so in her home town, she travels to Prague where she meets a chance acquaintance, a tennis player named Pavel. Like the heroine of Miloš Forman’s Lásky jedné plavovlásky (Loves of a Blonde, 1965), Bláža too is eventually dispossessed of her illusions and has to confront reality. In devising the light-hearted script, Muchna and Karel Štorkán were assisted by Miloš Macourek. The latter’s contribution ensures that Hon na kočku goes (Chasing the Cat) beyond mere entertainment. It does in fact offer a convincing narrative of events that divest a naïve secondary school student of her dreams of romance. Muchna found the perfect actress for the lead role in Jaromíra Mílová.
Synopsis
A slim and a bit childish Bláža Hořešovská from a small spa town has definitely decided to loose her virginity. She puts heads together with her schoolmates from secondary school. While walking with her friend Magda she refuses a dandy-like seduction of the book-seller Kučera, the local Casanova. In the afternoon Bláža visits her friend, the eighteen year old Vojta Voborník. They cuddle a bit clumsily in the loft of his house. Their attempt to get closer is interrupted suddenly and embarrassingly by Vojta's mother. She slaps her son and shows the girl out. At the Hořešovskýs home is everything as usually. The mother is tidying up and the father is drinking bear in front of TV. On Saturday Bláža and her friends meet young tennis-players from Prague. Bláža gets closer to one of them, called Pavel. She tells him about her dreams. The ironic young man is enchanted by the girl's naive romanticism and the couple dances on the colonnade. Magda invites her friends and the Prague gentlemen to their villa, her parents left. Bláža's father influenced by the information of the annoyed Voborníková is looking for his daughter around the town. The intimate party in the villa ends up as Magda's grandpa arrives. A couple of days later Bláža goes to Prague to see Pavel. But he is not on the ball to which he has invited her. The girl is lured into a certain studio by his alleged friends. First there she learns that Pavel is on a tournament outside of Prague. Without her handbag and documents she escapes both pushing young men. Bláža's Prague adventure ends up by a detention by police. Her terrified parents await her at home with lots of bans. Her mother checks her in the evening, but she is sleeping deeply. First after Mrs. Hořešovská leaves her room, Vojta hidden behind Bláža peers up in her bed.
Photos
Cast
Jaromíra Mílová
Bláža Hořešovská
Ivan Wiesner
Vojta Voborník
Jana Březinová
Anna, Blážina matka
Bronislav Poloczek
Fanouš, Blážin otec
Zuzana Schmidová
Vojtova matka
Antonín Trš
tenista Pavel Rejsek
Anna Pernerová
Magda, Blážina kamarádka
Olga Kalfiřtová
Dana, Blážina kamarádka
Ferdinand Havlík
vedoucí knihkupectví Kučera
Miroslav Kvašňák
fotograf Kamil Pilc
František Blahoňovský
Petr
Petr Jakeš
Jarouš
Miloš Čoudek
Houba
Karel Řádek
kulturista Karel Čumpelík
Miroslav Veselý
tenista Stanislav Keberle
Michal Antoš
tenista Tomáš Rotter
Karel Roden
Václav Pokorný, Blážin dědeček
Bohuslav Kupšovský
František Zítek, Magdin dědeček
Emilie Zíchová
zpěvačka Blanka/členka lázeňského orchestru
Milada Ježková
Blážina teta
Tereza Pokorná
Mirka, Blážina nemocná spolužačka
Oskar Gottlieb
diskžokej
Jaroslav Postránecký
hudebník-pozounista
Bohuslav Kuznik
hudebník-klarinetista
Rudolf Kroupa
hudebník-hobojista
Jiří Šindelář (3)
člen skupiny Katapult
Oldřich Říha
kapelník skupiny Katapult
Milan Tutsch
člen skupiny Katapult
Ladislav Vostárek
člen skupiny Katapult
Břetislav Slováček
Romeo v televizní inscenaci
Zlata Adamovská
Julie v televizní inscenaci
Ljuba Krbová
Eva
Jarmila Horská
učitelka
Simona Charvátová
Lidunka, Blážina kamarádka
Martin Fassati
Štěpán
Otto Košta
Venca
Božena Böhmová
zdravotní sestra
Dagmar Hachová
zdravotní sestra
Dana Říhová
zdravotní sestra
Jiří Antalovský
technik
Václav Houška
technik
Viktor Janoušek
technik
Václav Stezka
technik
Jitka Hladká
servírka
Marta Vejmolová
servírka
Tomáš Janata
vrchní
Tomáš Klouček
číšník
Miloš Navrátil
barman
Danuše Klichová
dívka
Zdeněk Křížek
pořadatel
Stanislav Lukeš
vousatý mladík
MUDr. Jiří Skřivan
lékař
Jiří Lír
lékař
Pavlína Sádlová
blondýna
Zdeněk Skalický
příslušník VB
Jan Šefl
dirigent
Karel Šťovíček
člen lázeňského orchestru
Crew and creators
Director
Second Unit Director
Assistant Director
Zdeněk Pazdírek
Script Supervisor
Screenstory
Screenplay
Shooting Script
Miloš Macourek, Milan Muchna, Karel Štorkán, Richard Valenta
Script Editor
Director of Photography
Second Unit Photography
Camera Operator
Production Designer
Assistent Production Designer
Set Designer
Jan Hodný, Karel Kočí, Jiří Matějka
Costume Designer
Costumes
Make-Up Artist
Film Editor
Sound Designer
Production Manager
Unit Production Manager
Unit Production Manager
Milan Nosek
Cooperation
Jindřich Panáček (fotograf)
Music
Music Composed by
Music Performed by
FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán Koníček), skupina Katapult
Songs
Cikán, černý cikán
Songwriter Jiří ČervenýAdolf Školka /úprava/
Writer of Lyrics Tomáš HertanAdolf Školka /úprava/
Singer Emilie Zíchová
Nezapomeň, šuhajku, na ty panske luky
Singer ženský hlas
Holka rozmilá
Singer ženský hlas
Motýl
Songwriter Jiří Šlitr
Writer of Lyrics Jiří Suchý
Singer Jiří JelínekJana Malknechtová
Hlupák váhá
Songwriter Oldřich Říha
Writer of Lyrics Ladislav Vostárek
Singer skupina Katapult
Já nesnídám sám
Songwriter Oldřich Říha
Writer of Lyrics Ladislav Vostárek
Singer skupina Katapult
Production info
Original Title
Hon na kočku
Czech Title
Hon na kočku
English Title
Chasing the Cat
Category
film
Typology
featuretheatrical distribution
Genre
narrative
Origin country
Czechoslovakia
Copyright
1979
Production Year
1979
Production specifications
literary Screenplay approved 14 September 1978
start of filming 12 March 1979
technical Screenplay approved 12 April 1979
end of filming 5 October 1979
projection approval 30 October 1979
Premiere
premiere 4 April 1980
Production
Copyright Holders
Distribution
Creative Group
Dramaturgická skupina Miroslava Hladkého, Miroslav Hladký (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny)
Technical info
Duration typology
feature film
Duration in minutes
76 min
Original length in metres
2 172 meters
Distribution carrier
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
Festival: 2. festival československé filmové veselohry Nové Město nad Metují
1980
Nové Město nad Metují / Czechoslovakia
Bronislav Poloczek
