Experiment Eva
Country
CzechoslovakiaCopyright
1985Production year
1985Premiere
1 April 1986Runtime
90 minDirector
Jaroslav BalíkCategory
filmGenre
psychologicalTypology
featuretheatrical distributionlongOriginal title
Experiment EvaCzech title
Experiment EvaEnglish title
Experiment EvaWorking title
Óda na radostSummary
In the mid-eighties, screenwriter and director Jaroslav Balík tried to give voice to the problems of an ambitious young woman who decides to get back to work after a few years spent on maternity leave. Surprisingly Eva Hübnerová (Polish actress Magdalena Wollejko) does not have any difficulties finding a job as a teacher or a place for her son Tomáš in kindergarten, and she does not suffer from low self-esteem. The troubles the relief teacher encounters in this 1985 release are solely related to socialist morality at the local high school, which Eva is firmly committed to applying to her husband Arnošt (Josef Abrhám). Thanks to his dental profession, he can secure the family financially, but he has started to succumb to pragmatic, small-town prejudices. Nor is everything as the idealistic heroine imagines at school. One determined woman, however, can make a difference.
Synopsis
The young married couple, the Hübners, always solve their disputes in the roof of their house in order to conceal them from their little son Tomá. Eva married the dentist Arnot as a student and delivered the child soon after graduating from the pedagogical faculty. The material situation of the family substantially improved thanks to Arnot's lucrative profession. They started in a lodging six years ago and now have a spacious apartment. But Arnot changed as well. He was appointed to many offices; he has numerous influential friends and he has turned into a pragmatic petty-bourgeois man. The next quarrel is caused by Eva's resolution to start teaching at the local grammar school in September. There, she meets the physics teacher Hrábek who once taught her, and is also introduced to the ambitious Zdeněk Navara, whose pride is the modern audiovisual classroom. Eva writes quotes on the blackboard every week. She perceives her work as an experiment which should either prove or disprove her opinion about the morals of the socialist society. She finds out that the modern classroom, which was even praised by the press, was never actually launched. Eva invites her students to her home which is now the only place to play them Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. She gets into conflict at the school meeting when she proposes recycling the equipment of the hi-end schoolroom in the framework of a recycling contest. The irritated schoolmaster decides to observe her teaching. Eva fails the inspection because the student Břéa does not answer her questions at all, telling her later that he wants to be expelled. He never wanted to study and he is protected only due to his achievements in the school basketball team. The Hübners' quarrels intensify and Eva feels unsuccessful even at work. When Arnot leaves for a golf tournament, Eva spends a night with Zdeněk. She receives a tempting offer to work as a methodologist in the school administration - only she would thus compromise her principles. The physics teacher Hrábek recommends her not to give up in her disputes. Arnot reveals to Eva that the offer was arranged by him and Eva confesses to him her momentary infidelity. Almost the entire town attends Hrábek's funeral. One day, the little Tomá gets lost near the cottage. The parents find him in the field where an older boy hired him to work for him. Arnot explains to his son that this is not ethical. He lets his wife drive their car as proof of their reconciliation. Eva decides to stay at the school.
Photos
Cast
Magdalena Wołłejko
Voice by Veronika Žilková
učitelka Eva Hübnerová
Josef Abrhám
zubař Arnošt, Evin manžel
Ota Sklenčka
učitel fyziky Hrábek
Viktor Preiss
učitel Zdeněk Navara
Hanna Bieluszko
Voice by Ljuba Krbová
Helena Urbanová
Rudolf Hrušínský ml.
Pavel, Helenin manžel
Jana Štěpánková
učitelka Zora Kazdová
Jan Teplý
stavbyvedoucí Standa Brožek
Valerie Zawadská
Standova přítelkyně
Bohumila Dolejšová
učitelka Blanka
Edmund Karwański
Voice by Miroslav Moravec
ředitel gymnázia
Bořivoj Navrátil
učitel Hubáček
Jana Gýrová
Olga Váchová, Arnoštova bývalá láska
Radúz Chmelík
Baltazar
Věra Uzelacová
Máša, Baltazarova žena
Pavel Kocourek
student Břéťa Poživil
Tomáš Řezníček
Tomášek, syn Hübnerových
Miluše Šplechtová
Sofie z divadelního představení Hoře z rozumu
Ivan Richter
Čackij z divadelního představení Hoře z rozumu
Karel Gult
Lojza, Arnoštův spolužák
Markéta Valentová
nová učitelka Eva Hečková
Sabina Hánová
sekretářka
Karel Meister ml.
učitel Erben
Růžena Rudnická
učitelka
Daniela Šrajerová
učitelka
Jana Hrubá
učitelka
Pavel Grégr
zákazník
Josef A. Stehlík
školník
Soňa Hrbková
studentka Šárka
Dominika Kopřivová
studentka Jitka
Martin Moravec
student Bršlica
Stanislav Vaidiš
student Ríša
Robin Vogel
student Jožka
Marta Karbusická
abiturientka
Jiří Klapka
abiturient
Pavel Černý
Eman
Martin Burian
student
Hynek Coufal
student
Michaela Deverová
studentka
Petr Drábek
student
Martina Fišerová
studentka
Petr Heřmánek
student
Lenka Hubáčková
studentka
Irena Karbanová
studentka
Lenka Kundelová
studentka
Barbora Nerušilová
studentka
Martin Novák
student
Štěpánka Nováková
studentka
Jaroslav Novotný (3)
student
Jaroslav Pospíšil (2)
student
Bohumila Příhodová
studentka
Zdena Růžičková
studentka
Pavlína Slepičková
studentka
Jakub Šram
student
Ondřej Šram
student
Renata Theinerová
studentka
Jiří Uher
student
Hana Urbanová
studentka
Michal Vondrák
student
Vladimír Wolf
student
Martina Zoulová
studentka
Igor Smržík
Arnoštův spolužák
Václav Brouček
tanečník
Marcela Hálová
tanečnice
Petr Prejda
tenista
Jan Havránek
Kulíšek
Jiří Furdze
hudebník
Leopold Chadura
hudebník
Jaroslav Volejník
hudebník
Josef Zajíc
hudebník
Miroslav Trpák
architekt
Judita Kraslová
zdravotní sestra
Crew and creators
Director
Second Unit Director
Assistant Director
Irena Krestová, František Nejedlý
Continuity
Screenstory
Screenplay
Shooting Script
Dramaturg
Director of Photography
Second Unit Photography
Camera Operator
Production Designer
Assistent Production Designer
Set Designer
Ivan Ernyei, Jiří Libánský, Dana Smržová
Costume Designer
Costumes
Make-Up Artist
Film Editor
Assistant Film Editor
Sound Designer
Stunts
Production Manager
Unit Production Manager
Adriena Jirková, Hana Jarošová
Unit Production Manager
Kryštof Navrátil
Consultant
dr. Zdeněk Nádvorník
Cooperation
Zdeněk Vávra (fotograf)
Music
Selected Music
Ludwig van Beethoven (Symfonie č. 9 d moll /Óda na radost/)
Production info
Original Title
Experiment Eva
Czech Title
Experiment Eva
English Title
Experiment Eva
Working Title
Óda na radost
Category
film
Typology
featuretheatrical distribution
Genre
psychological
Origin country
Czechoslovakia
Copyright
1985
Production Year
1985
Production specifications
literary Screenplay approved 29 November 1984
start of filming 1 February 1985
technical Screenplay approved 1 March 1985
end of filming 15 November 1985
projection approval 3 December 1985
Premiere
premiere 1 April 1986 /suitable for youths/
Production
Copyright Holders
Distribution
Creative Group
5. dramaturgicko-výrobní skupina, Miloslav Vydra (vedoucí 5. dramaturgicko-výrobní skupiny)
Technical info
Duration typology
feature film
Duration in minutes
90 min
Original length in metres
2 579 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
