View Larger Image

Kolya Actors: Zdenek Sverák, Andrei Chalimon Director: Jan Sverák Number of Items: 1 Format: Color, Widescreen Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Running Time: 105 minutes Studio: Miramax Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2002-07-02 Buy from Amazon

From Amazon.com Winner of the 1997 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, this charming Czech drama uses the backdrop of the Russian military occupation in Prague for its funny, sad, and ultimately delightful story of a 55-year-old man's friendship with a 5-year-old boy. It doesn't exactly start out as friendship: Louka is a cellist who lost his symphony job after writing a sarcastic remark on an official form, and although he's struggling financially he still enjoys the company of several young women who find him irresistibly sexy. The last thing he needs is a surrogate child, but that's what he gets when young Kolya is abandoned by his mother, a Russian woman Louka had agreed to marry so she could avoid being sent back to Russia. The mother runs off to her boyfriend in Germany, leaving Louka with a 5-year-old kid who only speaks Russian! As directed by Jan Sverák (whose father, Zdenek Sverák, plays Louka), this predicament offers a lovingly detailed account of how Louka and Kolya discover each other, and how their mutual awkwardness evolves into a heartwarming father-son relationship. While the Russian presence creates an atmosphere of suspicion and restriction, the deepening connection between Louka and Kolya turns this into an unforgettable film, beautifully photographed, sensitively performed, and directed with just the right combination of subtle sentiment and harsh reality. Its Oscar was definitely well deserved. --Jeff Shannon From Book Description Kolya, here beautifully translated by Ewald Osers, is the novelization of the Czech film of the same name, which won both the 1997 Oscar and Golden Globe awards for Best Foreign Language Film. Prague 1988--just before the Velvet Revolution. Louka, a virtuoso performer with the Czech Philharmonic, has been banned from playing by the state. Now he finds himself playing at cemeteries for a living. Adding to his problems, an illegal arranged marriage has left the hardened bachelor with a little Russian boy to care for. From these elements, Sdenek Sverak--who also played Louka in the film--has woven an enduring tale of the transforming powers of music, language, and love. 120 pp 5 x 8 20 b/w photos

Customer Reviews: No customer reviews available at this time.