PRAVIDLA LZI

Roman voluntarily allows himself to be locked away in a remote farmhouse in order to fight his drug addiction. He finds himself spending his days with eleven other addicts, male and female, from different backgrounds. In the course of the daily group sessions, three therapists attempt to deal with their individual problems and find solutions. But Roman soon notices that the group is dominated by a hierarchy, for some of the members already know each other and are being manipulated by Milan, a former dealer.

This debut film is not a dreary tale of the search for the inner self but a psychological thriller about dark secrets and lies. Even if the farmhouse in the mountains stands for a new beginning, relations among the motley group are repeatedly sabotaged by the unresolved crimes of the past. To make things worse, the therapists are in dispute about how to cope with the escalating situation.

The film plays almost entirely in one location, and the director skilfully increases the complexity of his figures and heightens the tension. He is supported by an outstanding cast, above all Jiri Langmajer in the role of Milan, the charismatic seducer and menacing manipulator. In recent years Czech cinema has grown more adult in its choice of themes, and with films like this ventures beyond bittersweet and nostalgic tragicomedies in order to explore other genres.