Screenwriter Jiří Šebánek had Slovak jazz musician Laco Déczi in mind while creating the character of Beno Vichnár – the protagonist of this 1989 comedy by accomplished director Július Matula. Just like Déczi, Beno plays the trumpet and is the head of a jazz band. He’s not short of pride that he able to live and work as a freelancer. He refuses the chance to marry his landlord’s daughter and also knocks back a lucrative offer to play in the band of popular singer Gábina Kleinová. Beno in fact often spoils everything for himself. He’s always without a penny and he gets entangled in situations created by his pranks. But still, he values his freedom above all… Slovak actor Marián Zednikovič shines in the lead role of this nostalgic comedy. Jiří Schmitzer plays the part of Beno’s friend Emil Vidlák, Lucie Bílá – the real-life singer – is Gábina.
The Slovak head of a Prague jazz band, the trumpet player Beno Vichnár, lodges in a villa owned by a pretty widow named Vlasta. The woman views him as a groom for her daughter Bohuna. But Beno is proud of his freedom both in his life and his profession. The band should soon perform on the radio. The performance is arranged by the saxophonist Emil Vidlák, and Beno wants him not to go under three hundred crowns per person. At the moment when the committee offers Emil five hundred crowns, the impulsive Beno rushes in and spoils everything. Although he is eternally broke, he refuses to play in the band of the popular singer Gábina. The dramatic adviser Verner arranges the recording of an LP for the Supraphon music agency for the group. The two friends cannot sleep off the consequent celebration in a bar in Emil's flat because his attractive wife, a stewardess, has a lover over. Beno cannot understand that Emil loves her so much that he tolerates this. He befriends a Roma family at a railway station. At Vlasta's villa, he makes her a window into a dark kitchen by knocking a hole in the wall with a pickaxe, and then runs away. He wants to make love to Gábina in a tent by the Vltava river, but the curiosity of the fishermen and the riverboat passengers makes the lovemaking impossible. Old men from the village of Roztoky will be on the cover of the new album instead of the musicians. Beno invites his new Roma friends to the live recording in a jazz club but the drunk Deo unfortunately spoils everything and the obstinate Beno leaves after an ensuing quarrel. A percussionist takes his revenge for the group's break-up - he sets a trap and the jealous husband of his lover beats up Beno. Beno ends up in a hospital with bloody wounds and gains keys to a railway watchman's house from a co-patient. He lives there with Emil who now performs with Gábina. They like to dress up in theatre costumes and stage "live images" from the attic for the people passing by in trains. Emil visits his wife in Prague and impresses her with a borrowed mercedes. He takes Gábina with him on the way back, but Beno refuses the offered engagement again. The two friends have a harsh dispute and Beno tries to put his "freelancing" - called "free leg" in Czech - behind his neck after Emil's "recommendation", thus almost drowning in a bath tub in front of the house. Emil saves him and the two stage a scene "Don Quixote and Sancho Panza" on the railway track. Their clash with an approaching train is halted by Vlasta, who arrives with Bohuna, by pulling an emergency break. In the consequent confusion, Beno jumps on the moving train and gets away from everybody.
jazzový trumpetista Beno Vichnár
Emil Vidlák zvaný Rampouch
Bohuna Kubíková
Vlasta Kubíková, Bohunina matka
zpěvačka Gábina Kleinová
letuška Alice, Vidlákova žena
hajný Bouzek
hudební dramaturg Vojta Verner
starý cikán
Benova matka
Benův otec
Benův dědeček
Benův bratr Štefan
Štefanova manželka
předsedkyně komise Luňáková
Ida
Hektor, Idin manžel
nadporučík VB v Bratislavě
podpraporčík VB
nadstrážmistr VB
barman Kamil
pacient Volný /Volejník?/
Pechlát, Vlastin soused
bubeník Standa zvaný Skotland
Vietnamec
Petr Dostál zvaný Marabu
Dežo
rybář Kadraba
technik
člen komise Laštovka
redaktorka Šlaisová
železničářka
fotograf Ota Bergschied
štamgast
sousedka Doubravová
barmanka
brýlatá paní
fořt
zvukař Jirka
vekslák
člen komise
hudebník Dragoun
letuška
sportovec
fanynka
fanynka
vyhazovač
rybář
dělník ve vlaku
Kamínek z NV
závodní stráž
redaktor
strýc ve vlaku
děda
děda
děda
děda
děda
host klubu
Stanislava Hutková
Tomáš Hoffman (2), Milan Bábik, Radan Kapinos, Pavel Svoboda, Karel Vaňásek
Karel Lupoměský, Rudolf Mos
Ivona Blažíčková, Božena Novotná, Jiří Lendr, Romana Šaldová
Jana Paparčíková (klapka), Kateřina Pavelková (klapka), Hana Turečková (klapka), Zdeněk Mihle (vrchní osvětlovač), Karel Ješátko (fotograf), Gabriela Muchová, Ladislav Chroust
Jaroslav Ježek (Klobouk ve křoví)
FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán Koníček), Juraj Bartoš /sólo na trubku/, Pavel Husička /sólo na trubku/, skupina Naima
Song Composer Jan Frank Fischer
Writer of Lyrics Jan Frank FischerOlga Fischerová
Singer Jana Švandová
Volná noha
Volná noha
Freelancing
Nepokoj s výhledem do zeleně
film
featuretheatrical distribution
comedy
Czechoslovakia
1989
1989
start of filming 15 June 1989
end of filming 8 August 1989
the first film copy approved 8 December 1989
projection approval 15 December 1989
withdrawal from distribution 31 December 1992
premiere 1 July 1990 /unsuitable for youths/
1. tvůrčí skupina, Jiří Blažek (vedoucí 1. tvůrčí skupiny)
feature film
90 min
2 515 meters
35mm
1:1,66
colour
sound
mono
Czech
Czech, Slovak
without subtitles
Czech
Festival: 12. festival české a slovenské filmové veselohry Novoměstský hrnec smíchu Nové Město nad Metují
1990
Nové Město nad Metují / Czechoslovakia
Jiří Šebánek
Festival: 12. festival české a slovenské filmové veselohry Novoměstský hrnec smíchu Nové Město nad Metují
1990
Nové Město nad Metují / Czechoslovakia
Julius Matula