The Festival’s flagship section, gutsy cinema that breaks new ground
CZECH REPUBLIC | 80 minutes | 2015
David lives with his parents in Ústí nad Labem, a small Czech town. Increasingly aware of his mild intellectual handicap, he decides one night, without telling anyone, to leave the comfort of the family home and go to Prague. A few crowns in his pocket, he is determined to find his brother and his girlfriend. But as time goes by and he keeps wandering through the hostile, unfamiliar streets, he gets more and more depressed. It’s a feeling he doesn’t know how to handle, or even recognize. Meanwhile, his worried parents are searching frantically for him. Helping us understand the mental state of its protagonist, in the process taking a novel look at difference, David, the first feature film by Czech director Jan Tešitel, premiered at the most recent Karlovy Vary festival. Built on a touching performance by the charismatic young actor Patrik Holubá, this bold, impressive film forces us to confront our own prejudices about mental illness, paced by a cold, dark setting.
No biography
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