''Empties'' () is a 2007 film directed by Jan Svěrák and written by his father Zdeněk Svěrák, who also stars in the film. It was released first in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

in March 2007. The film is a

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

from the same team which made '' Kolya''.

Plot

Josef Tkaloun is an elderly teacher at a high school in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

who cannot control his anger when his pupils misbehave in his poetry class. He quits his job and despite his wife urging him to retire, becomes a cycle courier. After an inevitable accident, he still refuses to stay at home and takes a job in the local Žižkov supermarket. He works behind a counter, recycling glass beer bottles. There he begins to flirt with the customers and matchmake both for an old friend and for the man he works with. His own flirtations (and sexually charged dreams) almost get him into trouble with his wife, so he resolves to reignite the passion in his marriage by celebrating his wedding anniversary with a hot air balloon ride. The scary balloon ride, ending in crash, revitalizes the relationship.

Cast

* Zdeněk Svěrák as Josef Tkaloun * Tatiana Vilhelmová as Helenka, his daughter * Daniela Kolářová as Eliška Tkalounová * Jiří Macháček as Landa, his friend * Pavel Landovský as Řezáč

Awards

*Zdeněk Svěrák received a ''Special Jury Mention'' for the screenplay at the 2007

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (, KVIFF) is an annual film festival held in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern Eur ...

. *The film received the Audience Award at 2007 Ljubljana International Film Festival. *The film received the Gold Dolphin award for Best Film at the Festroia International Film Festival in 2008. *The film received the Gold Prize for Best Film at Damascus International Film Festival in 2008.

Home media

The DVD was released in October 2007. It includes extra scenes, a photo gallery, the

storyboard A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of simple illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding proce ...

and comics.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2007 comedy films 2007 films 2000s Czech-language films Films directed by Jan Svěrák Films about educators Films about old age Films set in Prague Czech comedy films Films with screenplays by Zdeněk Svěrák Films scored by Ondřej Soukup