Amnestie

Up until the Velvet Revolution notorious Leopoldov Prison's inhabitants number political prisoners. Art thief Lupko works in the prison library and delivers secret messages to his fellow inmates. Having an important message for her imprisoned husband, Mrs Čierná turns to the wife of actor Kelemen. Mrs Kelemenová knows full well that her husband is having an affair with Lupko's wife and proceeds to exert pressure on her in order to ensure the message is smuggled in. Thus it is that the fortunes of these three couples come to be intertwined in the period prior to the revolution. And they cross paths once again during the prisoner revolt in 1990 when, it turns out, the protagonists' roles have been unexpectedly reversed. Drawing inspiration from real events, the film revolves around a violent rebellion that occurred after Havel's highly controversial amnesty. Instead of portraying the period as a time of widespread enthusiasm and optimism, director Jonáš Karásek paints an unusually sombre picture, accentuating the dark side of the transition era and the self-interest driven individuals who inhabited it. CF