A Country Teacher

A young teacher leaves his secondary school and parents in the capital and arrives at a village school; he hopes his new position will help him find out who he really is. He slowly gains the trust of the local people, in particular, the unconventional landowner Marie and her 17-year-old son. A visit from the teacher’s friend from Prague transforms this outwardly serene place into a smouldering pyre of broken relationships. Marie and especially her son are alarmed to discover that their new friend is a homosexual. Will the heroes of this poetic drama be able to find the strength to forgive and to recast their desire for love and friendship? Bohdan Sláma develops the theme of yearning and forgiveness in an intimate story of three people. This highly acclaimed film won two Czech Lions (for screenplay and actress playing the female lead, Zuzana Bydžovská), it won the Audience Award at the Festival of East European Cinema in Cottbus, and at the Stockholm Film Festival it garnered awards for actress Zuzana Bydžovská and cameraman Diviš Marek.