Before a Law
Category
filmGenre
allegoryTypology
featurenon-theatrical distributionstudent filmshortOriginal title
Před zákonemCzech title
Před zákonemEnglish title
Before a LawSynopsis
A doorman patrols in front of the Law. A newcomer wants to enter the Law but the doorman warns him against it. He cannot let him in for the moment – and he is the most inferior of all doormen: there are many more halls and many more doormen behind him. The man sits on a chair, sometimes pacing the hall impatiently, and waits. He tries to bribe the doorman, who takes the envelope only to prevent the man from thinking that he has neglected something. The newcomer recollects when he was a monkey, was caught on the Gold Coast and locked in a cage. It took him by surprise – while he longed more for some possible action than freedom. He was loaded onto a ship and watched the faces of the passers-by but he was not sure whether it was just one single person. He accepted his humanizing existence which was also noticed by the others, because he found a bottle of alcohol by accident and, after drinking it down, he cried out in a human voice: “Hello!” He turned into a human and started performing in a variety show. Now, he is a man, waiting to enter the Law, but time flies and he apparently ages. His hair is turning grey and his back is bowing. Then he plucks up the courage to ask the doorman how come that no one but him has asked to enter the Law in all those years. The doorman replies that no one else could have been let in through this door. The entrance, which he now shuts, was intended only for this visitor.
Photos
Cast
Pavel Zvarič
dveřník
Ladislav Matějček
příchozí
Crew and creators
Director
Screenstory
Based on
Franz Kafka (Před zákonem /Vor dem Gesetz/ – povídka), Franz Kafka (Zpráva pro jistou akademii /Ein Bericht für eine Akademie/ – povídka)
Screenplay
Director of Photography
Film Editor
Titles Designed by
Production Manager
Pedagogical management
Ludvík Ráža (režie), Jiří Macháně (kamera), Hana Bezrouková, Josef Valušiak (střih), Alois Fišárek (střih)
Production info
Original Title
Před zákonem
Czech Title
Před zákonem
English Title
Before a Law
Category
film
Typology
featurenon-theatrical distributionstudent film
Genre
allegory
Student film
Origin country
Czechoslovakia
Copyright
1986
Production Year
1986
Production
Technical info
Duration typology
short film
Duration in minutes
12 min
Original length in metres
345 meters
Distribution carrier
35mm
Aspect ratio
1:1,37
Colour
black & white
Sound
sound
Sound system/format
mono
Versions
Czech
Dialogue languages
Czech
Subtitles languages
without subtitles
Opening/End credits languages
Czech
