Film Archive

Blue Tiger

Czech Films 2011–2012 2012 / Modrý tygr / Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Germany 2012

Johanka and Matyáš are growing up in a small town, they have loving parents and a botanical garden close at hand. When the mayor, who merely appears altruistic, decides to bulldoze the old quarter, a magic blue tiger comes to the rescue. A film which draws on the best traditions of Czech films for children.

Synopsis

Johanka and Matyáš live a joyful existence. Both children are growing up in a loving environment within the walls of an old but quaint botanical garden. However, in the eyes of the ambitious and unscrupulous mayor, old is the new bad, and so it looks as if the children are going to lose their home, and the town will no longer have its magical sanctuary. Nevertheless, things take an unexpected turn when a mysterious blue tiger starts roaming the streets. Melancholic moods give way to uplifting moments: viewers will not only surrender to the film’s serene magic, but they will also sense a tension which adults will feel just as keenly as young audiences. The film’s strength lies in its rich imagery and the understated way in which it fires the imagination of the viewers, especially when acted sequences are suddenly combined with animation. The latter reflects the fantastic notions of the child characters, who prove that dreams really can come true. And however clear the film’s message is, it is conveyed with subtlety. As a result, criticism of our disregard for old things and our superficial, brief fascination with anything new is all the more apparent.

About the film

90 min / Color, 35 mm

Director Petr Oukropec / Screenplay Tereza Horváthová, Petr Oukropec / Dir. of Photography Klaus Fuxjäger / Music Jakub Kudláč, Markus Aust / Editor Jakub Hejna / Producer Petr Oukropec, Milan Kuchynka, Pavel Strnad / Production Negativ s.r.o. / Cast Linda Votrubová, Jakub Wunsch, Bára Hrzánová, Jan Hartl, Daniel Drewes / Contact CinemArt, a.s., LevelK / Distributor CinemArt, a.s.
www: www.negativ.cz/cz/films/modry-tygr/

About the director

Petr Oukropec (b. 1972, Prague) co-founded the production company Negativ, which has since produced some of the Czech Republic’s most successful post-revolution films, both in the domestic environment and also at foreign festivals. As producer he witnessed the rise of Saša Gedeon’s career (producing both Indian Summer and Return of the Idiot) and also that of David Ondříček (Whisper). Together with last year’s KVIFF international jury member Pavel Strnad, he has been working long-term with director Bohdan Sláma, whose film Four Suns competed at Sundance this year. He is a member of the European Film Academy and teaches at Prague’s FAMU. Blue Tiger is his directing debut.