Kolya
Kolya | |
---|---|
![]() Film poster | |
Directed by | Jan Svěrák |
Written by | Zdeněk Svěrák |
Produced by | Eric Abraham Jan Svěrák |
Starring | Zdeněk Svěrák Andrey Khalimon Libuše Šafránková |
Cinematography | Vladimír Smutný |
Edited by | Alois Fišárek |
Music by | Ondřej Soukup |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Space Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 111 minutes (original) 105 minutes (US version) |
Country | Czech Republic |
Languages | Czech, Slovak and Russian |
Budget | CZK 28 million[1] (app. $1 million) |
Box office | $7.7 million[2] |
Kolya (Czech: Kolja) is a 1996 Czech drama film about a man whose life is reshaped in an unexpected way. The film was directed by Jan Svěrák and stars his father, Zdeněk Svěrák, who also wrote the script from a story by Pavel Taussig.[3] Kolya earned critical acclaim and won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[4]
Plot[edit]
The film begins in 1988 as the Soviet Bloc is beginning to disintegrate. František Louka, a middle-aged Czech man dedicated to bachelorhood and the pursuit of women, is a concert cellist struggling to eke out a living by playing funerals at the Prague crematoriums. He has lost his previous job at the Czech Philharmonic, having been half-accidentally blacklisted as "politically unreliable" by the authorities. A friend offers him a chance to earn a great deal of money through a sham marriage to a Soviet woman to enable her to stay in Czechoslovakia. The woman then uses her new citizenship to emigrate to West Germany, where her boyfriend lives.
Due to a concurrence of circumstances, she has to leave behind her 5-year-old son, Kolya, for the disgruntled Czech musician to look after. At first Louka and Kolya have communication difficulties, as they don't speak each other's languages and the many false friend words that exist in Czech and Russian add to the confusion. Gradually, though, a bond forms between Louka and Kolya. The child suffers from suspected meningitis and has to be placed on a course of carefully monitored antibiotics. Louka is threatened with imprisonment for his suspect marriage and the child may be placed in a Soviet children's home. The Velvet Revolution intervenes though, and Kolya is reunited with his mother. Louka and Kolya say their goodbyes.
Louka returns to the Czech Philharmonic and plays Má Vlast with the orchestra under the conductor Rafael Kubelík at the Old Town Square in 1990, while his pregnant girlfriend Klára watches from the crowd.
Cast[edit]
- Andrey Khalimon as Kolya
- Zdeněk Svěrák as František Louka
- Libuše Šafránková as Klára
- Ondřej Vetchý as Mr. Brož
- Stella Zázvorková as Louka's mother
- Lillian Malkina as Tamara
- Irina Bezrukova as Kolya's mother
- Ladislav Smoljak as Houdek
- Karel Heřmánek as Musil
- Petra Špalková as Paša
- René Přibyl as Pokorný
- Miroslav Táborský as Novotný
- Slávka Budínová as Buštíková
- Jiří Sovák as Růžička
Home media[edit]
The film was released on DVD and VHS on July 2, 2002.[5]
Reception[edit]
The film gained positive reviews.[6][7][8][9] It received Honorable Mention at 53rd Venice International Film Festival.
Box office[edit]
In the Czech Republic, the movie's country of origin, over 1.34 million visitors made the movie one of the most successful movies ever. In Germany more than 624,000 tickets were sold for the film.[10]
The film was successful on a limited release in the United States[11] from 24 January 1997 and had taken about $5.73 million by 11 July that year after an opening weekend gross on three screens of $37,795.[12]
Awards[edit]
- Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
- Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film
- Czech Lion
- Best Film
- Best Director (Jan Svěrák)
- Best Actress (Libuše Šafránková)
- Best Supporting Actor (Andrey Khalimon)
- Best Screenplay (Zdeněk Svěrák)
- Best Editing (Alois Fišárek)
- Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix
See also[edit]
- List of submissions to the 69th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Czech submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References[edit]
- ^ Česká televize: Kolja – Co možná nevíte
- ^ worldwideboxoffice: Kolya
- ^ Thomas, Kevin (1997-01-24). "Father and Son Team Up in 'Kolya'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
- ^ "The 69th Academy Awards (1997) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
- ^ "News". hive4media.com. Archived from the original on July 3, 2002. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (1997-01-24). "What a Difference a Boy Makes". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
- ^ "Kolya". Chicago Sun Times. 1997-01-27. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
- ^ Guthmann, Edward (1997-09-12). "FILM REVIEW – Charming 'Kolya' Has Magic Touch". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
- ^ Thomas, Kevin (1997-01-24). "A Heart-Tugger With a Czech Twist". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
- ^ Kolya: Admissions. LUMIERE – Database on admissions of films released in Europe. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- ^ King, Susan (1997-01-28). "Jerry Maguire Ahead of Pack—Barely". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
- ^ Kolya: Box Office, IMDB, Undated.Retrieved 24 January 2016.
External links[edit]
- Kolya at IMDb
- Kolya at AllMovie
- Kolya at Rotten Tomatoes
- Kolya at Box Office Mojo
- 1996 films
- 1996 drama films
- Czech films
- Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award winners
- Best Foreign Language Film Golden Globe winners
- Czech Lion Awards winners (films)
- 1990s Czech-language films
- 1990s Russian-language films
- Slovak-language films
- Czech Republic–Russia relations
- Films about cellos and cellists
- Films about children
- Films directed by Jan Svěrák
- Films set in Czechoslovakia
- Films set in Prague
- Films set in the 1980s
- Films with screenplays by Zdeněk Svěrák
- 1990s multilingual films
- Czech multilingual films