The Pantheon of IFFK: Lifetime
Closely Watched Trains / Ostře sledované vlaky
Jiří Menzel
Director's bio
Jiří Menzel
Jiří Menzel (1938–2020) was a Czech filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter, celebrated as a central figure of the Czech New Wave. Born in Prague on February 23, 1938, Menzel studied directing at FAMU (Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague) under Otakar Vávra. His debut feature Closely Watched Trains (1966), adapted from Bohumil Hrabal’s novel, won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1967, instantly placing him among Europe’s most important directors. Menzel’s films often combined humanistic warmth with irony and satire, reflecting everyday life under socialism with subtle critiques of authority. His filmography includes Larks on a String (1969), banned for decades by the Czechoslovak government and released only in 1990, when it won the Golden Bear at Berlin. Other notable works are Capricious Summer (1968), My Sweet Little Village (1985, Oscar-nominated), I Served the King of England (2006), and The End of Old Times (1989). Many of his films were adaptations of Hrabal’s works, showcasing Menzel’s gift for blending literature with cinema.
Synopsis
At a village railway station in occupied Czechoslovakia, a bumbling dispatcher’s apprentice longs to liberate himself from his virginity. Oblivious to the war and the resistance that surrounds him, this young man embarks on a journey of sexual awakening and self-discovery, encountering a universe of frustration, eroticism, and adventure within his sleepy backwater depot.
Details of Cast
Václav Neckář Jitka Scoffin Vladimír Valenta Libuše Havelková Josef Somr Alois Vachek Jitka Zelenohorská
Details of Crew
DoP: Jaromír Šofr Editor: Jiřina Lukešová Music: Jiří Šust Sound Design: Jiří Pavlík
Producer Details
Zdeněk Oves
Writer Details
Jiří Menzel , Bohumil Hrabal
Stills
Films in this category
1997
Mother and Son
1997
Leila
1976
Raise Ravens
1974
Chorus
1960
Breathless
1965
Fists in the Pocket
Categories
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- The Suvarna Legacy : Suvarna Chakoram (17)
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- 50 Years of Rajeevnath (1)
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