The Lust for Power

Schemes of power, the collapse of Czechoslovakia and the practices of the „nineties“ in a revealing portrait of a political icon.

Mečiar
Czechia, Slovakia 2017
89 min.
15+
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A documentary made by the young director Tereza Nvotová (Take it Jeasy!) is the story of Slovak ex-politician Vladimir Mečiar and the impact he’s had on Slovak society and her own life. The story begins in 1989 when she’s a one year old and the Velvet Revolution is about to bring down the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. Following their victory, almost none of the revolutionary leaders want to occupy important government positions. They organize an open call for the position of Minister of Interior, and an unknown lawyer from a small town, Vladimir Meciar, vies for the job. He wins and proceeds to rise to the very top. While governing he becomes a benevolent dictator, ruling the country using tools of corruption, propaganda and organized crime. While events like the division of Czechoslovakia or the kidnapping of the President's son unfold, Tereza and her friends are playing children's games of politics casting Meciar in the lead role.

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Credits
Director: Tereza Nvotová
Screenplay: Tereza Nvotová, Josef Krajbich
Cinematography: Martin Žiaran, Marek Brožek, Michal Furda, Anna Smoroňová, Tomáš Stanek, Jan Šuster, Nikolas Tušl
Music: Pjoni
Sound: Igor Baar, Radim Hladík ml.
Editing: Josef Krajbich
Producer: Zuzana Mistríková, Ľubica Orechovská, Tereza Polachová, Kateřina Černá, Pavel Strnad
Cast: Vladimír Mečiar, Milan Žitný, Ladislav Snopko, Peter Zajac, František Mikloško, Fedor Gál, Václav Bartuška, Petr Pithart, Michael Kocáb, Martin M. Šimečka, Ľuboš Jurík, Fedor Flašík, Marián Leško, Oskar Fegyveres, Peter Tóth, Eugen Korda, Tom Nicholson, Theodor E. Russell, Tereza Nvotová
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