Outsider

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1986

Production year

1985—1986

Premiere

1 August 1987

Runtime

75 min

Category

film

Genre

children

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Outsider

Czech title

Outsider

English title

Outsider

Summary

During the 1970s “normalisation” era, director Zdeněk Sirový often turned to making escapist children’s films. However, even with these, he frequently managed to offer viewers above-average emotionally engaging material. That is very much the case with this unfairly forgotten drama from 1986, made at Gottwaldov Film Studios (today Zlín). The protagonist of the story – with genre and human qualities underscored by screenwriter Jiří Křižan – is 14-year-old Jožka. The horse-loving youngster is looking forward to joining a horse-rearing vocational school. However, a poor assessment from a (communist era) “personnel officer” forces Jožka to instead sign up to learn to become a tractor driver. Fortunately, the youngster doesn’t give up – he teams up with an outsider horse called Palisandr, and the pair set about proving their mettle to the world. Sirový successfully directs non-actor child star Robert Panc in the role of Jožek. Jiří Schmitzer debuts in the role of the mean instructor.

Synopsis

Jožin Palát, the truck driver from the Napajedla stud farm, has two passions - horses and carrier pigeons. The latter requires Palát to steal grain. However, he is caught and sentenced to prison for several months. But it is Palát's fourteen-year old son who gets the worst of it - the director of the stud farm does not recommend the boy to study at the Chuchle training institution specialized in riding. Jožka, who basically grew up on the stud farm, cannot imagine life without horses; he, however, must begin to study at a secondary school of agriculture. He is utterly unhappy there and thus gets into conflicts with his schoolmates as well as the teachers right from the start. He cheers up only during the weekends spent at the stud farm. He is immersed in the problems of the enterprise through the young horse Palisander that suffers from an inborn leg impediment. The farm's director wants to sell the horse by international auction but no one is interested. The horse is saved from the slaughterhouse by the jockey Toník, who promises the director he will prepare the horse for racing. It is spring and father Palát returns from prison. He wants to leave Napajedla with his family but the son refuses to go. Toník must do his military service and the horse's training is taken over by Palát, while Jožka is supposed to ride it. The boy runs away from his boarding house to the trainings. His teacher complains about his absences to his father, who only now realizes how unhappy his son is at the school. Palát promises to help him enroll at the longed-for training institution. Palisander runs in the The Seven Race in Slušovice and wins. He has thus earned the right to live. The stud farm's director wants to introduce Jožka to the headmaster of the Chuchle training institution. This also means that the boy, too, will achieve his desired goal. They were two outsiders, and they both won.

Cast

Robert Panc

Jožka Palát

Milan Sandhaus

ošetřovatel koní Vít

Vladislav Fedorowicz

Voice by Michal Pavlata
žokej Toník Machuta

Oldřich Vlach

řidič Jožin Palát, Jožkův otec

Jan Přeučil

ředitel hřebčína Jelínek

Jiří Schmitzer

vychovatel Vlkovský

Miroslav Donutil

veterinář Bartoš

Jiří Wohanka

inženýr Kryštof

Jana Vaňková

Milena Palátová, Jožkova matka

Jiří Bartoška

ředitel závodiště

Gabriela Osvaldová

ošetřovatelka Pavelková

Petr Pospíchal

ošetřovatel

Karel Hlušička

Voice by Jan Teplý
ošetřovatel

Jan Kraus

učitel v zemědělském učilišti

Josef Culek

Voice by Vítězslav Jandák
ošetřovatel Ondruch

Daniel Šedivák

učeň zvaný Páka

Dušan Vacek

učeň Stanislav Kahanec

Jiří Devát

tmavovlasý učeň

Vladimíra Nejepsová

novinářova dcera

Pavel Dias

fotograf na závodišti

Václav Kolečko

on sám, ředitel SOUZ Velké Chuchli

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Petr Makovička

Assistant Director

Pavel Nášel

Screenstory

Jiří Křižan

Screenplay

Jiří Křižan

Shooting Script

Zdenek Sirový

Director of Photography

Jiří Kolín

Second Unit Photography

Vladimír Kolář, Sead Muhtarević

Camera Operator

Miloš Mališka, Miroslav Makarov

Production Designer

Petr Smola

Assistent Production Designer

Josef Havlíček

Set Designer

Josef Vojtášek

Assistant Film Editor

Vlasta Malotová, Marie Vrlová

Sound Designer

František Fabián, Jitka Zvirocká (zvukové efekty)

Assistant Sound Designer

Zdeněk Skaunic

Production Manager

Zdeněk Stibor

Unit Production Manager

Věra Kopecká, Jiří Zemanec

Unit Production Manager

Milan Sedláček

Consultant

Ing. Stanislav Waksmundský, CSc., Ing. Zdeněk Hlačík, Ing. Václav Chaloupka

Cooperation

Pavel Dias (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Ondřej Soukup

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán Koníček), Studiová skupina (Music Conducted by Ondřej Soukup)

Production info

Original Title

Outsider

Czech Title

Outsider

English Title

Outsider

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

children

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1986

Production Year

1985—1986

Production specifications

technical Screenplay approved 06/1985
literary Screenplay approved 23 July 1985
projection approval 13 October 1986
the first film copy approved 20 October 1986
withdrawal from distribution 1 October 1993

Premiere

premiere 1 August 1987 /suitable for youths/

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

75 min

Original length in metres

2 140 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: 3. filmový festival plzeňských dětí – FILMÁK ’97

1997
Plzeň / Czech Republic

Vítěz

Event: Prémie Českého literárního fondu

1988
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Jiří Křižan

Vítěz

Festival: 27. festival filmů pro děti Gottwaldov

1987
Zlín / Czechoslovakia
Jiří Schmitzer

Vítěz

Exhibition: 19. národní přehlídka filmů pro děti Ostrov

1987
Ostrov nad Ohří / Czechoslovakia

Vítěz

Festival: 27. festival filmů pro děti Gottwaldov

1987
Zlín / Czechoslovakia

Vítěz

Festival: 38. filmový festival pracujících – léto ´87

1987
77 měst / Czechoslovakia

Vítěz

Festival: 27. festival filmů pro děti Gottwaldov

1987
Zlín / Czechoslovakia
Robert Panc

Vítěz

Festival: 27. festival filmů pro děti Gottwaldov

1987
Zlín / Czechoslovakia

Vítěz

Exhibition: 19. národní přehlídka filmů pro děti Ostrov

1987
Ostrov nad Ohří / Czechoslovakia
Robert Panc