Film Archive

Tobruk

Czech Films 2008-2009 2009 / Tobruk / Czech Republic, Slovak Republic 2008

Autumn 1941. The Czechoslovak 11th Infantry Battalion (East) is sent to the North African town of Tobruk; their task is to join the allied divisions in defending the seaport against superior enemy forces. The men are under constant threat not only from enemy fire, but also from the blistering heat of the African desert and, surprisingly, the limits of their own patience and courage. Václav Marhoul has come up with a visually uncompromising, atmospheric spectacle which testifies to the courage of men to fight for their country far from home. The film won three Czech Lion awards.

Synopsis

Autumn 1941. The Czechoslovak 11th Infantry Battalion (East) is sent to the North African town of Tobruk; their task is to join the allies in defending the last strategic seaport in northern Libya from German and Italian units. The recruits’ dreams of heroism are soon countered with the tough reality of their situation: the constant threat of not only enemy fire, but also the blistering heat of the African desert and, surprisingly, also the limits of their own patience and bravery. Private Jiří Pospíchal, like the others, has to resist the loss of his self-respect and put to the test his will to survive. Inspired by the novel by Stephen Crane, Václav Marhoul’s original war film is not conceived as a traditional war drama, but as a visually uncompromising, atmospheric spectacle which testifies to the courage of men to fight for their country far from home. Nominated for nine Czech Lion awards, Tobruk garnered three (Best Cinematography, Music and Sound).

About the film

102 min / Color, 35 mm

Director Václav Marhoul / Screenplay Václav Marhoul / Dir. of Photography Vladimír Smutný / Music Richard Horowitz, Sussan Deyhim / Editor Luděk Hudec / Producer Václav Marhoul / Production Silver Screen s.r.o. / Cast Jan Meduna, Petr Vaněk, Robert Nebřenský, Matěj Hádek, Andrej Polák, Kryštof Rímský, Martin Nahálka, Michal Novotný, Radim Fiala, Petr Stach, Petr Lněnička, Matúš Krátky, Petr Halberstadt / Contact Silver Screen, Intramovies, Magic Box - division Bioscop, Česká televize / Distributor Magic Box - division Bioscop
www: www.tobruk.cz

About the director

Václav Marhoul (b. 1960, Prague) studied production at Prague’s FAMU and began as production assistant at the Barrandov Film Studios. He left in 1986 to work on the production of films involving the Prague Five, but returned to Barrandov in 1990 as head of the studios and later shared in its privatisation. In 1997 he established his own company Silver Screen, which deals in various film, stage and fine art projects. The company has also been associated with a number of public events, such as support for Czech membership of NATO (1998), the Commemoration of the Victims of Communism (2005) and the organisation of cultural events during the NATO summit in Prague (2002). He is a member of Prague’s Sklep theatre and the art group The Stubborn (Tvrdohlaví). Apart from his own films, his company produced the film by Oskar Reif The Bed (1998). He debuted as a director in 2003 with the audience hit Smart Philip, a parody of hard-hitting detective stories.

Contacts

Silver Screen
Palace Lucerna, 110 00, Praha 1
Czech Republic
Phone: +420 296 236 491
Fax: +420 296 236 493
E-mail: [email protected]

Intramovies
Via Eustachio Manfredi 15, 00197, Rome
Italy
Phone: +39 064 577 7930
E-mail: [email protected]

Magic Box - division Bioscop
Na Klikovce 7, 140 00, Praha 4
Czech Republic
Phone: +420 221 436 255
Fax: +420 221 436 305
E-mail: [email protected]

Česká televize
Kavčí hory, 140 70, Praha 4
Czech Republic
Phone: +420 261 131 111
E-mail: [email protected]