Václav

The autistic Václav is regarded as a harmless enough soul but, as the years pass, he causes increasing problems, and his neighbours in the village and his colleagues in the agricultural cooperative are running out of patience. Locked in his own playful, poetic world, he lives with his aging mum who fondly accepts her son’s madcap ideas and excesses. But the majority think that someone who shoots at passers-by with an air rifle and tries to drive a tractor for fun belongs in an institution. Even the man’s respectable younger brother František refuses to take him under his wing anymore. Then one of Václav’s reckless exploits lands him in prison. Who will find the courage to sign the petition for his release? This tragicomedy is inspired by a real story from the 1990s which received considerable exposure when the protagonist was granted clemency by former President Václav Havel. Ivan Trojan and Jan Budař won Czech Lions for their performances.