THE PERFECT GROUCH HAS MET HIS MATCH. A FIVE-YEAR-OLD BOY NAMED KOLYA.

As the end is coming for Communist rule in Czechoslovakia, a musician (Zdenek Sverak) in Prague finds he has no choice but to care for a five-year-old Russian boy (Andrej Chalimon). Here’s a film that is virtually doing everything it can to win a Best Foreign Film Oscar. Well, it gets away with it. Emotional and not without depth, this is nevertheless a somewhat unoriginal film about an odd couple that learns to love each other. The director, who has made his share of documentaries, lends a realistic but also humorous touch to the stirring events in his country in the late ‘80s. The director’s father and Chalimon are superb.

1996-Czech Republic-Britain. 110 min. Color. Directed by Jan Sverak. Screenplay: Zdenek Sverak. Cast: Zdenek Sverak (Louka), Andrej Chalimon (Kolya), Libuse Safrankova (Klara), Ondrez Vetchy, Stella Zazvorkova, Ladislav Smoljak. 

Trivia: Co-produced by the director. 

Oscar: Best Foreign Language Film. Golden Globe: Best Foreign Language Film.

IMDb