Viliam Polónyi

A story of a small-town boy growing up in love and despair and family troubles that make him take on a critical attitude towards his surroundings. Mato does not fulfill his father's wish for devoting his free time to playing soccer. Mato enjoys fishing with his friend Robo much more. He dreams of his schoolmate Terka and of an adventurous run-away from home.

A 1984 Slovak language drama film directed by Martin Tapák.

Hrdinou příběhu je silný a odvážný mladý kovář s dobrým srdcem. Jmenuje se Mikeš a stejně jako jeho otec i on zatouží vydat se do světa na zkušenou. Cestou se spřátelí se dvěma mladými siláky, mlynářským pomocníkem Matějem a pacholkem Ondrou. Když se dovědí o třech krásných princeznách, které záhadně zmizely, přesvědčí Mikeš své lenivé společníky, aby se vydali ztracené královské dcery hledat. Po dlouhé cestě plné překážek se jim podaří zjistit, že princezny unesl zlý Černý král. Když se Mikešovi podaří přelstít ohyzdnou babici, a výměnou za její utržený vous získat její služby, podaří se jim osvobodit dvě ze tří princezen. Boj o záchranu třetí, nejkrásnější princezny však bude mnohem obtížnější.

The son of a charcoal burner was once prophesied as a child to marry the daughter of a king. The king tries to prevent this by all means.

A picture of generational confrontations between children and parents. A young and ambitious violin virtuoso, Peter, lives in long-lasting conflicts with his father. Only after his death Peter realizes how much he had been hurting his father. Still, not even the tragedy can make a change in his shallow life in stereotype.

A funny outlaw tale inspired by traditional folk humour. Pacho is no ordinary outlaw. He detests injustice and feudal oppression and he copes with each troublesome situation with the help of his cleverness and wit.

This is a political picture about the Bulgarian revolutionary Georgi Dimitrov. In 1933 during the Reichstag Fire Trial trumped-up charges of having set the Reichstag on fire were brought against him. At the trial Dimitrov exposed the machinations of the Nazis and turned from a defendant into an accuser. Central to the story is the face-to-face political duel between Dimitrov and Goering. Dimitrov's interactions with ordinary Germans, the memories of his wife Lyuba Ivoshevich, and the meetings with his mother Parashkeva alternate with documentary shooting scenes from the time of Nazi Germany.

A tragicomedy about people who are able to make use of the war situation for their own benefit. The Gavora family of four leave their secure village home blinded by the vision of a big career and easy earning of money in the capital city.

A Slovak comedy from director Štefan Uher and screenwriter Alfonz Bednár.

A tragic story of two young people who are in the precious moments of first emotional flare deeply disappointed by the shallow feelings of their parents as well as their relatives and friends.

This is a ballad about love, hate, and a search for a way out of loneliness. It is a dramatic story about the strange potter, Martin Leaps, nicknamed Dragon, who is suspected by the villagers as the cause of natural disasters. He lost his wife, his home, and his freedom due to false accusations. After years he returns to his native village. Putting his own life to risk, he saves a herd of sheep from a forest fire in the hills. But not even this heroic deed helps him to win back the friendship of the locals.

A classical ballad motif about an aging father and his three daughters is quite unusually here set against the backdrop of Czechoslovakia of the 1950s. After having been expropriated, the former landowner Majda seeks refuge with his three daughters whom he had sent to a convent a long time ago. But only the youngest one is able to forgive him and she is willing to take care of him despite the threat of expulsion from the order.

Seven people waiting for their death. A group of assasins - three men and two women - and Gypsy thief spend their time in prison to be tucked up.

A film about the dramatic lives ofthe people of the village of Ráztoka during WW I. Women are left without husbands, families fall apart, finding themselves on the verge of poverty. Eva, the main heroine, is going through difficulties after her husband was drafted to the army. Her defilement and her tragic death cause a rebellion by which the village inhabitants finally stand up against their unbearable situation.

Two female clerks using up their savings to enjoy a few days of carefree life, two plumbers looking for an erotic adventure, a building contractor determined to drink away all wages of his workers and a former major who became an alcoholic due to political persecution — these people meet in a ski resort bar somewhere in the High Tatras. During one night they gradually reveal their unfulfilled dreams, illusions and disappointments of ”average" people of those times.

A dramatic story from the setting of a youth de tention center. Youngster Jakub, out of delusory solidarity, gets convicted of theft and goes to prison in place ofthe "sheriff" of his gang. He naively hopes that the sheriff will appreciate his gesture and leaves the stolen goods in a safe hideaway to later divide them fairly among the gang members. This conviction gives Jakub the strength to endure the unbearable conditions in the center. But reality is often much harsher than naive ideals and hollow relations in the gang.

In this bitingly satirical film Peter Slovan, a continuous source of trouble for the film functionaries of the socialist Slovakia, tackles an evergreen topic – the corruptive effects of power. Barnabáš Kos, a triangle player at a symphonic orchestra, is suddenly promoted to serve as the head of the said institution, even though both he and his superiors deem him completely unfit for the task. Encouraged in equal parts by this unexpected recognition and the servile praise of his colleagues, Kos’s modesty starts to gradually vanish. The erstwhile bashful and aloof percussionist quickly becomes aware of the advantages of his new office, and begins to realise his increasingly ludicrous artistic ambitions. Ultimately, the submissive marionette turns into a source of public humiliation, and his astonishing career finds an abrupt end. Orchestra serves here as a microcosm that grotesquely reflects the absurd and tragicomic mechanisms of the paranoid apparatus of power.

The Organ is a drama set in the times of the wartime Slovak State. A young Polish deserter and gifted organist finds shelter from the fascists in a Slovak Franciscan monastery. He gets into a conflict with the local organist and choir leader, a man limited in his world views and spiritual values. The collision of talent and beauty with pettiness and closed-mindedness leads to envy and ill will, which draw young Felix away from his temporary hiding place and back to the dangers of war.

A movie built up of three stories about life in a small Slovak town. The Prosecutor: the district attorney is a jazz orchestra soloist at the same time and that is much disliked by the local provincial society. The Defender: is about a young doctor's relation to his patient, who is open about his reactionary opinions. The Judge: it is only after long years that the old judge realizes that his own marriage is in jeopardy.

A story of two old friends, who after ten years - one as the deputy director and the other as the chairman of the party organization - meet on a large construction site.

This film is one of the most popular pictures of Slovak cinema and relates the story about the legendary folk hero and brigand Juro Jánošík [1688-1713] and the social situation in Slovakia of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The first part talks about Jánošík's childhood, studies and return to his native village. In the second part Jánošík leaves for the hills, where he organizes his band of brigands and starts an anti-feudal resistance. The film concludes with Jánošík's execution.

Oldrich "Fajolo" Fajták (Marián Bielik), a student who directs quasi-existentialist verbal abuse at his girlfriend Bela Blazejová (Jana Beláková), takes off to a formally volunteer summer work camp at a farm where he meets her grandfather.

An unusual children's film set during World War II in Czechoslovakia, this compelling drama unfolds five different segments that present the war through the eyes of three youngsters. The three have a series of adventures which include saving a soldier from being captured by the Germans, helping out the resistance fighters, and meeting up with a young Russian woman trained in guerrilla warfare. As they learn more about life and danger, various circumstances constantly recall the reality of war itself. The title comes from a wounded pigeon under the care of one of the youngsters.

Three soccer fans are determined to do literally anything to get to the soccer match between Czechoslovakia and the famous representation team of Brazil. Reaching their goal to see the dream match live cannot he precluded neither by a sudden work task nor family obligations. However, there is one more obstacle in their way: for some time, their enthusiastic behavior during soccer matches has been monitored by the police. This time, it will not be easy for them to get to the stadium.

On this naive and awkwardly narrated fairy tale it is remarkable that it also established the tradition of fairy tale stories in Slovakia. A certain refinement is the framing of the whole story with a puppet show that moves into the played scenes. The film carries out a folk tale of a stupid castle lord who lives in a ruined castle, a fraudulent painter and a lazy shepherd.

Drama about the rebellion of the Trencín Infantry Regiment against its superior officers in the Serbian city of Kragujevac, at the end of the First World War. It was the biggest and deadliest rebellion in the Austro-Hungarian army.

Episodic film consisting of three satirical shorts ('Smutný káder', 'Typický prípad' and 'Vel'korysá kampaň') comically exposing the shortcomings of society. In the interval between each short, a committee recognising themselves in the characters on screen, voice their approval or disapproval of each film.

A comedy film taking an ironic view of the bourgeois period prior to the First World War.