Champions (2004)
Ice hockey is a Czech national obsession, and the country's victory over Russia in the 1969 World Championships, the year following the Soviet invasion, is a celebrated moment in its history. In Marek Najbrt's black comedy, the heroic exploits take place only on a black and white tv screen as a group of representative misfits gather and watch the game in a desolate village on the Czech border. While consisting of recognisable types, Najbrt's bleak portrait reveals a world of alcoholism, debt, racism, bigotry, and infidelity that trails behind the dreams of nationalism and bears little resemblance to the fantasies of the new consumerism. A clever and multi-levelled film, it provides a sharp antidote to the reconciliatory charms of the conventional Czech comedy.
Director:
Marek Najbrt
Writers:
Robert Geisler, Marek Najbrt, Benjamin Tuček.
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Jan Budař as |
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Klára Melíšková as |
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Will Spoor as |
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Jiří Ornest as |
| Directing | Marek Najbrt | Director |
| Writing | Robert Geisler | Screenplay |
| Writing | Marek Najbrt | Screenplay |
| Writing | Benjamin Tuček | Screenplay |
| Directing | Kateřina Oujezdská | First Assistant Director |
| Directing | Lukáš Viznar | Assistant Director |
| Crew | Kristián Suda | Dramaturgy |
| Camera | Miloslav Holman | Director of Photography |
| Costume & Make-Up | Andrea Králová | Costume Design |
| Costume & Make-Up | Jana Dopitová | Makeup & Hair |
| Editing | Pavel Hrdlička | Editor |
| Sound | Jiří Melcher | Sound |
| Production | Milan Kuchynka | Producer |
| Production | Pavel Strnad | Producer |
| Sound | Petr Marek | Music |
| Art | Milan Býček | Production Design |