Kolya

Kolya (105 min., Czech, 1996)

Once a renowned cellist in the August Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, middle-aged bachelor, Frantisek Louka (Zdenek Sverak), now plays funerals at the city crematorium. Strapped for cash and lacking many material comforts, Louka frequently indulges himself with the company of other men's wives.

Occupied by the Russians, Prague is on the eve of the 1989 Velvet Revolution. Louka has no idea that more than political change abounds. The personal revolution he is about to experience is just as unpredictable as the revolution outside his window.

His entire life is interrupted when a friendly grave-digger (Ondrez Vetchy) proposes that Louka marry his distant Russian niece (Irena Livanova) who needs Czech papers. No ties. No obligations. Just a signature in exchange for enough money to buy a small car and pay the rent. Resolved to maintain his bachelor lifestyle, Louka refuses. But when the grave-digger's niece turns out to be young and beautiful, he changes his mind.

The simple plot throws Frantisek Louka into a series of unexpected episodes, altering his life beyond recognition. His bride quickly emigrates to Germany to join her lover, leaving behind her six year-old Russian son, Kolya (Andrej Chalimon). The young boy is left in Louka's care, inviting the turmoil of the country into his own small apartment.

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