RODINNÝ FILM

Anna and Erik are home alone, their parents having set off on a holiday across the oceans. A few weeks without their parents would appear to be an enticing prospect for the teenagers, were it not for the fact that they have no idea what to do with the time. A suspense-packed psychological study full of unexpected turns.

A well-to-do family in Prague: mother, father, a pet dog and two almost grown-up children. Erik is fifteen and still goes to school. His sister Anna is already a student who still lives at home. When the parents, pet dog in tow, set off on a sailing trip to foreign climbs, the children are left to fend for themselves and given a first taste of freedom. The seemingly pleasant, sensible teenagers soon grow bored however, whereupon they come up with ever more obscure dares and play computer games until late at night, whilst Erik falls in love and starts to neglect his studies. This seemingly careless existence is replaced by a sense of fear however when the Skype calls with mum and dad suddenly come to an end.

Even though the film's title suggests otherwise, RODINNÝ FILM isn't an entertaining watch for the whole family. Instead the plot focuses on excessive demands and neglect in a well-to-do, seemingly functioning family, the kind you see all across Europe. Director Olmo Omerzu develops a kind of experimental arrangement in order to expose and dissect the protagonists' family structure. His minimalist and highly focused approach tells a suspense-packed tale, full of unexpected twists and turns. RODINNÝ FILM follows on from the success of the Prague-based director's successful début PŘÍLIŠ MLADÁ NOC (2012), which screened at the Berlinale Forum, and represents a further evolution of his signature style. CF