SLUNECNI STAT
THE CITY OF THE SUN
DIRECTOR: MARTIN SULIK
CZECH REPUBLIC, SLOVAKIA 2005
95 MIN / 35MM, COLOR, CZECH./SLOVAK. OV w. engl. ST
Caligari: 08.04. / 8.00 pm
Alpha: 09.04. / 6.00 pm
DIRECTOR:
Martin Sulik
SCREENPLAY:
Marek Lescak
Martin Sulik
CAMERA:
Martin Strba
ART DIRECTOR:
Frantisek Liptak
EDITOR:
Jiri Brozek
MUSIC:
Vladimir Godar
PRODUCER:
Cestmír Kopecky
CAST:
Oldrich Navratil
Ivan Martinka
Lubos Kostelny
Igor Bares
Anna Conova
PRODUCTION:
Prvni Verejnopravni, Prag
Tel.: 00420 / 602 666 676
e-mail: kopecky@cestmir.cz
Titanic s.r.o., Bratislava
Tel.: 00421 - 2 / 905 439 040
e-mail: sulikm@chello.sk
DISTRIBUTION:
CinemArt a.s., Prag
Tel.: 00420 - 2 / 211 052 35
Fax: 00420 - 2 / 211 052 20
e-mail: info@cinemart.cz
Casualties of globalization wherever the eye turns – Karel, Vinco,
Tomas and Milan, for instance, Slovak workers in the Czech town of Ostrava,
who lose their jobs in a factory after it is sold to a foreign investor.
The four men defiantly take fate into their own hands and buy a van in
order to open up their own removals firm. But circumstances are against
their determination to make a decent living: Most of the jobs our heroes
procure (or invent) are dubious in nature, and lead to all kinds of complications.
The men are equally troubled by the shortcomings in their private lives.
Milan, who is divorced, is losing control over his problem-laden son;
Tomas, hot-tempered and lacking in self-control, is increasingly alienating
his wife, the ladies’ man Vinco seems trapped in his habitual patterns,
and the refreshingly playful Karel suddenly has to take care of his three
small daughters on his own. With his customary gentle and casual humour,
Martin Sulik develops the plot entirely on the basis of his finely drawn
and plausible characters. Reminiscent of British social comedies, the
film contains the accomplished performances now expected from this actor’s
director. We view his figures with sufficient distance – but feel
with them all the same. Utopian visions can no longer answer these men’s
need to make peace with themselves and recover their dignity. The city
of the sun is something for the travel agent’s brochures –
but the small pleasures which perhaps add up to true happiness can be
discovered in the everyday world so sensitively observed by Sulik.
MARTIN SULIK
Born on 20.10.1962 in Zilina.
Martin Sulik graduated in 1986 in film and television production at Bratislava’s
Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (VSMU). In 1991 he made his feature
film debut with NEHA. His second film VSETKO, CO MAM RAD was nominated
for an Oscar. He is one of the most successful Slovakian filmmakers today
and achieved his international reputation through numerous awards. His
quasi-documentary KLIC K URCOVANI TRPASLIKU ANEB POSLEDNI CESTA LEMUELA
GULLIVERA was awarded the „Golden Lily“ for Best Film at goEast
2003. In 2005, goEast dedicated him its first Portrait.
FILMOGRAFIE (SELECTION):
1991 Neha / The Tenderness
1992 Vsetko, co mam rad / Everything I Like
1995 Zahrada / The Garden
1997 Orbis Pictus
2000 Krajinka / The Landscape
2002 Klic k urcovani trpasliku, aneb posledni cesta Lemuela Gullivera
/ The Key for Determining Dwarfs, or The Last Travel of Lemuel Gulliver
2005 Slunecni stat / The City of the Sun
|