''Accumulator 1'' ( cs, Akumulátor 1) is a 1994 film directed by

Jan Svěrák Jan Svěrák () (born 6 February 1965 in Žatec) is a Czech film director. He is the son of screenwriter and actor Zdeněk Svěrák. He studied documentary filmmaking at the FAMU. He and his films have received awards including the Academy Awa ...

. The film won the Grand Prize at the 7th

Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival The , also sometimes called YIFFF, is held in a resort-like environment in the small town of Yūbari on the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaidō. From 1990 to 1999, the festival was known as the Yubari International Fantastic Adventure Fi ...

in February 1996. It won the audience award at the Tromsø International Film Festival in 1996.

Plot

After a young surveyor, Olda (Petr Forman), watches himself on television, and his colleagues Slezák ( Bolek Polívka) steals his love interest Jitka ( Tereza Pergnerová), he is suddenly completely without energy and ends up unconscious for three days. In hospital he meets Fišarek ( Zdeněk Svěrák), a healer who is visiting his neighbour, Mikulík ( Jiří Kodet). After leaving hospital he works on his energy problems with Fišarek, who shows him how to take energy from his surroundings, especially wood. When Mikulík dies, they go to inspect his body. They are interrupted by his daughter Anna (

Edita Brychta Edita Brychta is a British actress. Early life Brychta began acting as a young child in the Czech film Kinoautomat, the world's first interactive movie, which was presented at Expo 67 in Montreal. At the age of 16, she joined London's Nation ...

), who displays antagonism towards Fišarek. Fišarek continues his tests on Olda, with some other healers. They witness a teacher on television, struggling to express himself, as Olda did. We then witness an alternate universe in which alternate versions of people on television party raucously using energy sucked from their real world counterparts. Back in the real world Olda visits Anna at work and they go for coffee together. Despite meeting a drunken Slezák in the cafe, they click, and Olda drives Anna home. They admit their feelings for each other, and progress to the bedroom to make love. However, Olda accidentally turns the television on, and his energy is again sucked from him, at which point he realises the truth. When he visits Fišarek to tell him, he meets the teacher from the television, who has reached the same conclusion. The teacher heads to the

High Tatras The High Tatras or High Tatra Mountains ( Slovak: Vysoké Tatry; pl, Tatry Wysokie; rue, Высокі Татри,'' Vysoki Tatry''; hu, Magas-Tátra; german: Hohe Tatra; french: Hautes Tatras), are a mountain range along the border of norther ...

to escape televisions, while Olda stays in Prague to be near Anna. The teacher comes into contact with a television even in the High Tatras and appeals to Fišarek for help, who joins him. The next time he is at Anna's, Olda suggests marriage, but then discovers that she has a daughter. She tells him to meet her at the opera the next day if he wants to keep seeing her. In the meantime he buys several remote controls as protection. Back at his flat he meets Jitka, who complains about Slezák and propositions him. He rejects her and goes to meet Anna at the opera (''

Nabucco ''Nabucco'' (, short for Nabucodonosor ; en, " Nebuchadnezzar") is an Italian-language opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal tra ...

''), where he has trouble staying in his seat due to fluctuating energy levels. After the opera they drive back to Anna's, with Olda struggling to avoid televisions on the way. During a power cut that evening, Olda formulates a plan to overcome his condition by flooding the television with energy. The next day Olda collects as much energy as he can from his surroundings. In the evening Anna and Olda go to her work party, but Olda is preoccupied. Eventually he leaves to carry out his plan. He is interrupted by Slezák, who is looking for Jitka. Olda continues undeterred and on a bridge near his house, uses a stockpile of wood in his flat to overwhelm the television set with energy. When the dust settles his television alter-ego has appeared; they embrace and merge. Slezák, who had broken into Olda's flat by the time of the explosion, is arrested. The next morning Olda phones Anna to apologise and it is presumed that their relationship will proceed normally.

Cast

* Petr Forman as Olda Soukup *

as Anna * Zdeněk Svěrák as Fišarek: a natural healer * Marián Labuda as The Teacher * Bolek Polívka as Slezák * Tereza Pergnerová as Jitka * Jiří Kodet as Mikulík * Marketa Frosslová as Anička *

Ladislav Smoljak Ladislav Smoljak (9 December 1931 – 6 June 2010) was a Czech film and theater director, actor and screenwriter. He was born in Prague. Smoljak tried to study at an art academy but failed the admission process. He went on to study physics and ...

as Caretaker * Daniela Kolářova as Mrs. Fišarkova * Rudolf Hrušinský Jr. as Pitrýsek *

David Koller David Koller (born 27 September 1960) is a Czech musician and record producer. Career Music Koller started his career in the early 1980s as the drummer of Jasná Páka and has also played in various other bands, including Žentour, Pusa, and ...

as The Cowboy *

Robert Kodym The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, ho ...

as The Indian *

Nada Safratova Nada may refer to: Culture * Nāda, a concept in ancient Indian metaphysics Places * Nada, Hainan, China * Nada, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States * Nada, Nepal, village in Achham District, Seti Zone *Nada, Texas, United ...

as Gabriela *

Ivo Kašpar Ivo is a masculine given name, in use in various European languages. The name used in western European languages originates as a Normannic name recorded since the High Middle Ages, and the French name Yves is a variant of it. The unrelated S ...

as Pištek

References

External links

* {{Jan Svěrák 1994 films 1994 comedy films 1990s fantasy comedy films 1990s Czech-language films 1990s English-language films Films directed by Jan Svěrák Czech action films Czech science fiction films Czech comedy films Czech fantasy films Czech Lion Awards winners (films) Films with screenplays by Zdeněk Svěrák Films about television 1994 multilingual films Czech multilingual films