Etudes for Piano Students

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1986

Production year

1985—1986

Premiere

1 April 1987

Runtime

81 min

Director

Ota Koval

Category

film

Genre

psychological

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Hry pro mírně pokročilé

Czech title

Hry pro mírně pokročilé

English title

Etudes for Piano Students

Working title

Rok navíc

Summary

Working with a motif and script provided by Daniela Fischerová, seasoned director Ota Koval made a film for teenage audiences where the protagonist is 14-year old Klárka Králová. The gifted pianist is accepted into the conservatory in Prague and her mother finds a job in the city. After Klárka manages to break an arm, she is in for one last – and unforgettable – summer holiday in her native Liberec before moving to the capital. There is the house painter apprentice Štěpán, as well as arguing between her parents who hold clashing views on the Prague move. The lead role in this 1986 title was played by Lucie Tomková, who also went on to appear in Koval’s family comedy Uf-oni jsou tady (The Aliens Are Here!, 1988). David Novotný appeared as Štěpán in a film debut that led to a successful career. The roles of Klárka’s parents were entrusted to Petr Čepek and Evelyna Steimarová, whose mother Jiřina played the girl’s grandmother.

Synopsis

Fourteen-year-old Klárka Králová, from Liberec, is admitted to the conservatory in Prague. She will study piano. Her mother won a competition as an interpreter and she will begin working in Prague. These two successes lead to a family celebration, but there is an obstacle. Klára's father is a doctor and does not want to move to Prague. He has been treating a patient in Liberec for seven years. Now, the patient is dying and Král does not want to leave him. Klárka breaks her right arm.. She meets Štěpán, a painter apprentice. The next day she does not want to go to classes though she would be able to play with her left hand, so she calls her teacher saying she has the flue. She stands in for her friend, the postwoman Zuzana, delivering letters. However, she cannot deliver the pension to her teacher, as he would find out she is lying. By avoiding this, she causes trouble for Zuzana at the post office. The girl witnesses a row between Štěpán and his father in the house under construction on the outskirts. Štěpán grew up in a children's home, his father disowned him, but now he forces him to help build the house. Štěpán refuses and runs away. Králová decides to move to Prague without her husband. The unhappy Klárka seeks comfort with Štěpán. She does not want to move to Prague without her father. She visits him in the hospital, but is not able to tell him that her mother left them. In the hospital she also meets Štěpán, who is visiting his father, who broke his leg. Klárka overnights with her father in the hospital and, in the morning, learns that her mother is not going to move to Prague. The happy Klárka comes back home, plays a Chopin's etude with her left hand and she rushes out to tell Štěpán she will go to Prague alone, but she will be coming back home for weekends and holidays.

Note

The instructional film Running, by PhD. Petr Sušanka from the Methodology Department of the Top Athletics Commission was used in this film. At that time, computer technology was not yet used in film and it was one of the excellent and resourceful films on biomechanics of particular sports. Thanks to high-speed camera, calculations and subsequently processed graphs, a schematic aid was created that helped essentially to enhance the sport performance technique. The best athletes of that time appeared in the film as models.

Cast

Lucie Tomková

Klárka Králová

Evelyna Steimarová

překladatelka Jarka, Klárčina matka

Petr Čepek

MUDr. František Král, Klárčin otec

Jan Faltýnek

kabaretiér Freddy, Štěpánův otec

dr. Ivan Vyskočil

profesor Prošek

Jaroslava Tichá

Proškova žena

Magda Hamoová

poštovní doručovatelka Zuzana

Vlasta Špicnerová

úřednice za přepážkou

Libuše Štědrá

vedoucí na poště

Jaroslava Pokorná

sálová sestra

Zuzana Talpová

zdravotní sestra ve výtahu

Jiří Lír

zafačovaný pacient

Bohumil Vávra

stařík s berlou

Eva Svobodová

adresátka Martička

Lucie Schneiderová

gravidní nevěsta

Daniela Fischerová

cvičitelka jógy

Josef A. Stehlík

stařeček s heligónkou

Pavel Jiras

hrubián u tramvaje

Boris Halmi

elegán, Zuzanin přítel

Barbora Hocková

lékařka

Eva Šípková

mladičká sestra

Erna Březinová

starletka

Jan Kruml

hecíř

Lea Bernhardtová

zdravotní sestra

Jaromír Meduna

závozník

Margareta Hansen

černoška

Věra Farová

starší žena

Ivo Hrdina

vrátný v nemocnici

Štěpánka Nováková

písařka

Barbora Nerušilová

dívka v ponču

Daniel Pavelka

tanečník break dance

Milan Zábranský

tanečník break dance

Hana Ševčíková

adeptka herectví

Marie Koutská

družička

Crew and creators

Director

Ota Koval

Second Unit Director

Josef Jarolímek

Assistant Director

Petr Strejček

Shooting Script

Ota Koval

Director of Photography

Vladimír Smutný

Second Unit Photography

Jiří Pechar

Camera Operator

Jan Carda

Production Designer

Jindřich Goetz

Assistent Production Designer

Petr Pištěk

Set Designer

Milan Bábik, Jiří Matějka, Eva Slívová

Costume Designer

Marta Kaplerová

Film Editor

Dalibor Lipský

Assistant Film Editor

Ruth Kubalíková

Special Effects

Ludvík Malý

Production Manager

Miroslav Smrček

Unit Production Manager

Ivan Helcl, Luboš Kozák

Unit Production Manager

Karel Lupoměský

Consultant

Karel Čepička

Cooperation

Marika Wasserbauerová (klapka), Zdeněk Dukát (fotograf), J. Beneš, Miloslav Halík, Zdeněk Jílek, N. Vlášková, K. Koutský

Music

Music Composed by

Štěpán Lucký

Selected Music

Fryderyk Chopin (Klavírní skladby), Edvard Hagerup Grieg (Klavírní koncert a moll), Jaroslav Ježek (Bugatti step)

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán Koníček)

Songs

Tunel jménem Čas

Song Composer Miki Ryvola
Writer of Lyrics Miki Ryvola
Singer sbor

Production info

Original Title

Hry pro mírně pokročilé

Czech Title

Hry pro mírně pokročilé

English Title

Etudes for Piano Students

Working Title

Rok navíc

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

psychological

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1986

Production Year

1985—1986

Production specifications

start of filming 23 September 1985
literary Screenplay approved 11 October 1985
technical Screenplay approved 11 October 1985
end of filming 24 April 1986
projection approval 20 June 1986

Premiere

premiere 1 April 1987 /suitable for youths/

Creative Group

4. dramaturgicko-výrobní skupina, Marcela Pittermannová (vedoucí 4. dramaturgicko-výrobní skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

81 min

Original length in metres

2 325 meters

Distribution carrier

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