Film Archive

Clownwise

Czech Films 2013–2014 2014 / Klauni / Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Slovak Republic, Finland 2013

A once-famous clown trio parted company on bad terms and it seems the negative vibes are still as palpable thirty years later, when the protagonists are troubled by quite different matters. A film which truly captures the bleak side of clowning and offers excellent performances from the Czech cast as well as from Kati Outinen and Didier Flamand.

Synopsis

Life has proved challenging for three individuals who were once part of a famous trio of clowns. Thirty years previously, Oskar, Max and Viktor came together as the celebrated troupe Busters, yet despite their popularity with audiences, they ended up going their separate ways. Oskar has now returned after three decades in emigration, but mutual accusations still hang in the air. Perhaps the "guilty party” is something beyond a mere failure to surmount the obstacles life plans for us all. Wrongs of the past can’t be concealed behind a red clown nose. The film resourcefully distinguishes the protagonists’ different temperaments and also reflects their individuality in its depiction of the environments they inhabit. The sorrow of human relationships is betrayed in the personalities of three clowns who are perhaps given their last chance to shake off old injustices. This sensitive picture adopts a candid approach to the heroes’ advancing age and to the trivialities in their lives, and shows understanding in exposing their fragility. It also demonstrates that life is more often a horror show than light-hearted slapstick.

About the film

124 min / Color, DCP

Director Viktor Tauš / Screenplay Petr Jarchovský / Dir. of Photography Milan Chadima / Music Petr Ostrouchov / Editor Alois Fišárek / Producer Michal Kollar, Donato Rotunno, Viktor Tauš, Taru Makela, Jouko Seppala / Production Fog’n’Desire Films / Cast Didier Flamand, Oldřich Kaiser, Jiří Lábus, Kati Outinen, Julie Ferrier, Eva Jeníčková / Contact Latido Films / Distributor Falcon a.s.

About the director

Viktor Tauš (b. 1973, Prague) is a Czech film producer and director. During his studies at FAMU he shot the staged documentary Eleanor Rigby from the Lesser Quarter (Eleanor Rigby z Malé Strany, 1995), which was followed by his evocative feature debut My Detox (Kanárek), screened at KVIFF in 2000. In 2008 he directed the sequel to the successful generational comedy The Great Thaw (Sněženky a machři po 25 letech). He has also made more than seventy advertising spots for prestigious firms. In 2006 he cofounded the Prague-based production company Fog’n’Desire, which produced films such as The House (Dům, dir. Zuzana Liová, 2011) and Honeymoon (Líbánky, dir. Jan Hřebejk, 2013); the first premiered at Berlin, the latter competing at Karlovy Vary. In 2013 Tauš was selected for the Cannes panel Producers on the Move. Clownwise was nominated for eight Czech Lions and four Czech Film Critics Awards.