A Prominent Patient (Masaryk, 2016)

Biography/Drama/History

Czech Republic/Slovakia, 2016, 114min


Directed by: Julius Ševčík

Written by: Petr Kolečko, Alex Königsmark

Starring: Karel Roden, Hanns Zischler, Oldřich Kaiser, Eva Hercigová, Emília Vašáryová

Monday 15/10 @ 7pm

A period in the life of diplomat and politician Jan Masaryk, who was the son of Czechoslovakia's founder, served as the country's minister of foreign affairs and is believed by many to have been killed by the Communists in 1948.

It is 1939. Flamboyant Czech diplomat Jan Masaryk has fled to America to escape his recent past. Germany has invaded Czechoslovakia and Masaryk is now a man with no nation. In America he tries to forget the personal and political betrayal he and his country have suffered but these events shadow his every step. As the Czechoslovak ambassador in London, Masaryk failed to win the support of the British and could not avert the ruination of his country. With the help of Dr. Stein, an emigre German psychiatrist, and the beautiful writer Marcia Davenport, Masaryk tries to overcome his demons and re-live the dramatic events leading to the outbreak of the second world war.

The movie was screened in the Berlinale Special section at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival. It won twelve Czech Lions including the Czech Lion for Best Film.

A Prominent Patient is the opening movie of our 2018 Czech Film Festival Queenstown as a commemorative of the 100th Anniversary of the Czech Republic which we celebrate in October this year.

Top