Ivo Helikar

In the Czech film comedy from 1988, you can see for yourself that the war was not easy, but otherwise it was great fun. Sergeant Kouba serving with the paratroopers has a soft spot for women. His superior does not like him. However, during a military exercise on the way to the barracks, Kouba shows his true character when he saves the life of a little boy, convicts a thief and finds a lifelong partner in the commander's sister.

Even under socialism, which proclaimed the equality of all people, there were status differences. A young bricklayer, who has fallen in love with a college girl from a "better" family, feels this first-hand - the girl's petty bourgeois parents are fundamentally opposed to an unequal relationship from their point of view. In protest, the young lovers decide to live in a tent for the time being and go straight to the park. The surprisingly clueless director Ladislav Rychman has tried to merge disco songs with a tame satire on modern-day rich people.

The film is based on a legendary school film of Tomáš Vorel, called INg (1985). The storyline stays the same - a young engineer finds a new job and wants to work, this proves to be impossible in the last days of the communist era.

Inspired by the activities of counter-intelligence officers, Jan Prokop plays chess at every opportunity. In addition, he works with his team to uncover a resident network that attempts to recruit domestic experts to work abroad.

Nineteen-year-old Pavel Kříž spends all his free time in Prague's arcades, bistros and discos with a group of thieves called Roby. Pavel has a high school diploma, but works as a window cleaner, and a large part of his income comes from the scams, scams and thefts of Roby's crew, to whom he supplies guaranteed tips. So he's not too happy when the cleaning manager assigns him a young temp, Jana Hálková. Although the girl makes no secret of her distaste for Pavel's way of life, a fragile emotional bond develops between them. But this cannot last in the environment in which Pavel moves. The young man gets into more and more trouble - part of Roby's party is caught by the police and he cannot find the money to pay back the debt. The situation escalates when a group of thieves kidnap Jana...

A young man from a poor proletarian family successfully graduates from university, meets a girl who grew up in an orphanage - and surprises his surroundings, greedy relatives and a friend from a rich bourgeois family, by refusing any benefits. He regularly visits his parents to help them build their house, trying to act honestly at all times.

Building themes, however modified, permeated the nationalised cinema throughout its existence. This time, director Július Matula has focused on a young engineer who, with high hopes, accepts a position in a famous agricultural cooperative. However, he soon discovers that behind the proclaimed phrases there is in fact hypocrisy and protectionism. The authors criticise the fact that incompetence is often covered up, that shortcomings end up being cleverly camouflaged, that the social mood favours the mediocre and the adaptable. The hauers present a statement that is courageous, so to speak, within the limits of the law, and call for increased work consciousness.

The dramatic story of Karel Svozil, an aging professor of art history, tells of love and old age, illness, death and the worries of everyday life with a humorous touch. A diagnosis of a cancerous tumour unexpectedly interferes with the life of the wise and sophisticated man and his love affair with the much younger Alena, leading him to contemplate suicide. However, the gloomy thoughts are soon replaced by feverish activity, with which Professor Svozil tries to make the most of his remaining time. He finishes his book, marries his mistress, and openly speaks out against his superior. However, an accident radically changes the whole situation.