Film Archive

We Have Never Been Modern

Crystal Globe Competition 2023 / Úsvit / Czech Republic, Slovak Republic 2023

Synopsis

Amidst a thriving Baťa-esque town, nestled in the scenic foothills of the majestic Tatra mountains, stands a factory, whose young director is, for his day (it's 1937), pleasingly modern in approach. Yet, don’t be fooled, the film’s protagonist is actually his wife Helena (Eliška Křenková). The aspiring doctor is soon to give birth, yet her resolute gaze into her family’s rosy future is suddenly darkened by the discovery of the body of a newborn baby in the vibrant factory's courtyard. Helena’s innate empathy, intensified by her pregnancy, isn’t satisfied by the conspicuously prompt solution to the mystery. A stirring detective drama with a progressive and profoundly human perspective on a theme controversial not only shortly before the unexpected war, but also decades later.

Karel Och

About the film

117 min / Color, Black & White, DCP
World premiere
Director Matěj Chlupáček / Screenplay Miro Šifra / Dir. of Photography Martin Douba / Music Simon Goff / Sound Peter Hilčanský, Pavel Rejholec / Editor Pavel Hrdlička / Art Director Henrich Boráros / Producer Maja Hamplová, Matěj Chlupáček / Production BARLETTA / Coproduction D.N.A. PRODUCTION / Cast Eliška Křenková, Miloslav König, Milan Ondrík, Richard Langdon, Martha Issová, Luboš Veselý, Ladislav Hampl, Marián Mitaš / Sales LevelK / Distributor Bontonfilm, a.s.

About the director

Matěj Chlupáček (1994, Czech Republic). Filmography: Touchless (2013), In Treatment (2019, series), Rats (2020, miniseries), We Have Never Been Modern (2023).