Mág (Magician) is a 1988 Czech film directed by

František Vláčil František Vláčil (19 February 1924 – 27 January 1999) was a Czech film director, painter, and graphic artist. From 1945 to 1950, he studied aesthetics and art history at Masaryk University in Brno. Later, he worked in various groups an ...

. The film is about Czech poet

Karel Hynek Mácha Karel Hynek Mácha () (16 November 1810 – 5 November 1836) was a Czechs, Czech Romanticism, romantic poet. His poem ''Máj'' is among the most important poems in the history of Czech literature. Biography Mácha was born on 16 November 1810 ...

. It is Vláčil's last film. The film received mixed reviews and critics called it a reflection of Vláčil's previous work.

Plot

Mácha goes to Litoměřice where he accepted position as a

Notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is distin ...

. He plans to marry Lori who is getting prepared for the wedding. Mácha's brother Michal comes instead of him and announces that Mácha is dead. The film then switches to when Mácha and Lori met. Mácha and Lori met in Kajetán's theatre. The film shows Mácha's and Lori's relationship. It also shows Mácha's meeting with ill girl Márinka who is a fan of his poems. Mácha also hears that someone called Hynek killed his father in jealousy. It inspires Mácha to make his most famous poem,

Máj ''Máj'' (Czech language, Czech for the month ''May''; ; usually ''květen'') is a Romantic poetry, romantic poem by Karel Hynek Mácha in four cantos. It was fiercely criticized when first published, but since then has gained the status of one o ...

. When Máj is released it is received negatively and Mácha needs to provide Lori who is pregnant and accepts position as a Notary in Litoměřice. He spends his free time at Rádobyce. One day there is a fire and Mácha helps but his organism succumbs illness and he dies.

Cast

* Jiří Schwarz as

Veronika Žilková Veronika Žilková (born 16 October 1961 in Prague) is a Czech actress. She played the part of Božena Horáková in the 2000 Czech film, '' Little Otik'' also known as '' Otesánek''. In 1997 she received the Czech Lion Award as the best su ...

as Lori Šomková *

Věra Tichánková Věra Tichánková (7 December 1920 – 9 January 2014) was a Czech actress, whose career spanned over seven decades. She married actor and playwright Jan Skopeček. Věra Tichánková died on 9 January 2014, aged 93, in Prague, Czech Rep ...

as Lori's mother *

Blažena Holišová Blažena Holišová (11 July 1930 – 7 April 2011) was a Czech actress. She starred in the 1969/1970 film ''Witchhammer'' under director Otakar Vávra. Holisová died on 7 April 2011. She was 80 years old. Partial filmography * ''Skola otcu ...

as Mácha's mother *

Jan Hrušínský Jan Hrušínský (born 9 June 1955) is a Czech actor. He has appeared in 56 films and television shows since 1970. He starred in the 1974 film '' Kdo hledá zlaté dno'', which was entered into the 25th Berlin International Film Festival. He is ...

as Mácha's brother Michal * Marta Vančurová as Márinka *

Zdeněk Řehoř Zdeněk is a Czech male given name derived from the Latin name Sidonius. contested the relation with the Latin name, and an alternative etymology is a diminutive of Zdeslav.Jan Svoboda, Staročeská osobní jména se základem sd , sdě-, :Onom ...

as Márinka's father * Václav Knop as

Josef Kajetán Tyl Josef Kajetán Tyl (4 February 180811 July 1856; ) was a significant Czech dramatist, writer, and actor. He was a notable figure in the Czech National Revival movement and is best known as the author of the current national anthem of the Czech R ...

* Jana Švandová as Leni Forchheimová *

Tomáš Juřička Tomáš () is a Czech and Slovak given name, equivalent to the name Thomas. Tomáš is also a surname (feminine: Tomášová). Notable people with the name include: Given name Sport *Tomáš Berdych (born 1985), Czech tennis player * Tomáš Chor� ...

as Jan Kaška *

Alexej Okuněv Alexej is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Alexej Čepička * Alexej Jaškin * Alexej Pludek, Czech writer * Alexej Prochorow, German weightlifter * Alexej Stachowitsch * Alexej von Jawlensky * Josef Alexej Eisenberger S ...

Karel Sabina Karel Sabina (pen names include Arian Želinský and Leo Blass) (29 December 1813 – 8 November 1877) was a Czech writer and journalist. Life Karel Sabina grew up in poverty as an extramarital child of a daughter of a sugar producing factory' ...

* Jan Kraus as Trojan

References

External links

* 1988 drama films 1980s historical films 1988 films Czech historical drama films 1980s Czech-language films Czechoslovak drama films Films directed by František Vláčil Karel Hynek Mácha 1980s Czech films {{1980s-CzechRepublic-film-stub