City of Fathers

A new film by Zdeněk Tyc follows a father and son who share little more than the name Richard and a prefab apartment in Adamov. The burly, good-natured thirty-something from the factory listens to metal and lets his girlfriend into his life only partially. His father, a subtle retired teacher who raised him alone after his mother left, embodies gentleness and understanding.

Their peacefully shared reality - which has room for both the hardcore band Našrot and Bergman's Whispers and Cries - is disrupted one day by the sudden death of the mother who lived nearby. Ríša embarks on an idiosyncratic initiation journey marked by peculiar encounters and moments of unexpected insight.

Tyc tackles existential themes headlong, supported by excellently cast actors led by Tomáš Vravník and Vladimír Javorský.