''Cosy Dens'' () is a 1999 Czech film directed by

Jan Hřebejk Jan Hřebejk (; born 27 June 1967) is a Czech film director and actor. Life and career Born in Prague, Hřebejk graduated from high school in 1987 and continued his studies at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague ...

. It is loosely based on the novel '' Hovno Hoří'' ("shit on fire") by

Petr Šabach Petr Šabach (August 23, 1951 – September 16, 2017) was a Czech writer. Works * ''Jak potopit Austrálii'' (1986) * ''Hovno hoří'' (1994) * ''Zvláštní problém Františka S.'' (1996) * ''Putování mořského koně'' (1998) * ''Babič ...

. Readers of ''

Reflex In biology, a reflex, or reflex action, is an involuntary, unplanned sequence or action and nearly instantaneous response to a stimulus. Reflexes are found with varying levels of complexity in organisms with a nervous system. A reflex occurs ...

'' magazine voted it as the best Czech film in 2011. ''Cosy Dens'' was screened at the 1999

Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Festi ...

Synopsis

''Cosy Dens'' is a bittersweet

coming-of-age story In genre studies, a coming-of-age story is a genre of literature, theatre, film, and video game that focuses on the growth of a protagonist from childhood to adulthood, or "coming of age". Coming-of-age stories tend to emphasize dialogue or interna ...

set in the months from Christmas 1967 up to the 1968

Prague Spring The Prague Spring (; ) was a period of liberalization, political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected Secretary (title), First Secre ...

. Teenager Michal Šebek has a crush on his upstairs neighbour, Jindřiška Krausová. Michal's family is led by a stubborn army officer who is a firm supporter of the

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

system and who believes that Communist technology will eventually triumph over "Western imperialist capitalism', while Jindřiška's father is an ardent foe of the Communists and a war hero, who has been imprisoned several times because of his outspoken opposition to the regime. He believes that "the Bolsheviks have a year left at most, maybe two". In contrast, the younger generation could not care less for politics. Instead, Michal sports a

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

-style mop-top, while Elien, whose parents live in the United States, runs a local film group specialising in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

and pre-war French films. Jindřiška eventually becomes Elien's girlfriend. After a wedding that unites the families, the film ends with the news of the invasion of Czechoslovakia by

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

troops.

Trivia

The Czech title is a plural and diminutive of the word "pelech", literally meaning animal den or burrow. It is used figuratively for a cosy place to sleep.

Cast

* Michael Beran as Michal Šebek * Ondřej Brousek as Elien *

Miroslav Donutil Miroslav Donutil (born 7 February 1951) is a Czech theatrical, film and television actor, born in Třebíč. Since 1978 when he appeared as Hloch in '' Čistá řeka'', Donutil has been making film and TV appearances. He dubbed the voice of Kevin ...

as Mr. Šebek *

Jaroslav Dušek Jaroslav Dušek (born 30 April 1961) is a Czech actor. Selected filmography Film * ''Kouř'' (1991) * ''Cosy Dens'' (1999) * ''Divided We Fall (film), Divided We Fall'' (2000) * ''Želary'' (2003) * ''Pupendo'' (2003) * ''Mazaný Filip'' (2003 ...

as Saša Mašláň *

Eva Holubová Eva Holubová (born 7 March 1959) is a Czech actress. She is known for having cured herself of alcoholism. She received a Czech Lion Award in 2000 for her supporting role in the film ''Ene Bene'', and in 2006, she won the award for Best Actres ...

as Eva (teacher) *

Boris Hybner Boris Hybner (5 August 1941 – 2 April 2016) was a Czech actor, director and mime A mime artist, or simply mime (from Greek language, Greek , , "imitator, actor"), is a person who uses ''mime'' (also called ''pantomime'' outside of Brita ...

as Magician * Sylvie Koblížková as Uzlinka Šebková *

Jiří Kodet Jiří Kodet (6 December 1937 – 25 June 2005) was a Czech actor. He appeared in more than ninety films between 1951 and 2003. His mother Jiřina Steimarová and his daughter Barbora Kodetová are also actresses. Selected filmography Refere ...

as Mr. Kraus * Jiří Krejčík as Doctor Stárek * Marek Morvai as Petr *

Kristýna Nováková *Kristýna Badinková Nováková *Kristýna Bláhová *Kristýna Fleissnerová *Kristýna Horská * Kristýna Kaltounková *Kristýna Kolocová * Kristýna Kyněrová *Kristýna Leichtová * Kristyna Myles * Kristýna Napoleaová *Kristýna Nepivodo ...

as Jindřiška Krausová *

Bolek Polívka Boleslav Polívka (born 31 July 1949, in Vizovice) is a Czech film and theatre actor, mime, playwright, and screenwriter. He has appeared in more than 40 films. Career Polívka first started appearing in films in the 1960s. He graduated from ...

as Uncle *

Simona Stašová Simona Stašová (born 19 March 1955) is a Czech stage, film and television actress. Since making her theatre debut in 1976, she has acted on stage in theatres and appeared in numerous films and television productions. Stašová has won multiple ...

as Mrs. Šebková *

Emília Vášáryová Emília Vášáryová, Doctor Artis Dramaticae ( hon.) (; born 18 May 1942) is a Slovak stage and screen actress, whom '' Variety'' and other publications refer to as the "First Lady of Slovak Theater". During a career of more than five decades ...

as Mrs. Krausová *

Stella Zázvorková Stella Zázvorková (14 April 1922 – 18 May 2005) was a Czech actress from Prague. Zázvorková, an alumnus of Prague's theatre school of E.F. Burian, appeared in more than a hundred films and series. She was married to the actor Milo� ...

as Grandmother

Soundtrack

The soundtrack to ''Cosy Dens'' was released in April 1999 and contains snippets of dialogue in addition to songs. #

Blue Effect Blue Effect was a Czech rock band, also operating under the names M. Efekt, Modrý efekt, or the Special Blue Effect, since their formation in 1968. The band's main and only permanent member, from its founding until his death in 2016, was guitar ...

– "Slunečný hrob" # Miroslav Kaman,

– "Dvě dávky" #

Václav Neckář Václav Neckář (born 23 October 1943 in Prague) is a Czech singer and actor. He is best known for his performance as Miloš Hrma in '' Closely Watched Trains''. Between 1978 and 1979 he cooperated with Polish singer Anna Jantar during their per ...

– "Tu kytaru jsem koupil kvůli tobě" #

– "Nebe na zemi" #

, Michael Beran, Ondřej Brousek – "Kozačky..." # Petr Novák &

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...

– "Povídej" # Kristýna Nováková, Michael Beran – "Něco jako příbuzný" #

Waldemar Matuška Waldemar Matuška (; 2 July 1932 – 30 May 2009) was a Czech singer who became popular in his homeland during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1986, he immigrated to the United States. Early career Waldemar Matuška was born Vladislav Matuška on 2 Jul ...

– "Pojď se mnou, lásko má" #

– "Dávám bolševikovi rok" #

Hana Hegerová Hana Hegerová (20 October 1931 – 23 March 2021) was a Slovak singer and actress. Often referred to as the Queen of Czechoslovak chanson, she gained popularity primarily as a singer of chansons. Outside of Czechoslovakia, Hegerová attained r ...

– "Čerešně" #

, Bolek Polívka, Silvie Koblížková – "Nerozbitná sklenička" # Kučerovci – "Ajo mama" # Miroslav Donutil, Michael Beran – "Gagarinův bratr" # Kučerovci – "La mulher rendeira" #

, Miroslav Donutil, Bolek Polívka – "Maršál Malinovskij" # Judita Čeřovská – "Je po dešti" #

, Jaroslav Dušek, Marek Morvai-Javorský – "Vyděržaj, pijaněr" # Václav Neckář – "Lékořice" #

, Kristýna Nováková, Jiří Kodet – "Noky" #

Karel Gott Karel Gott (14 July 1939 – 1 October 2019) was a Czech singer, considered the most successful male singer in Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. He was voted the country's best male singer in the annual ''Český slavík'' (''Czech Nighti ...

– "Santa lucia" # Miroslav Donutil, Bolek Polívka, Jiří Kodet – "Kde udělali soudruzi z NDR chybu?" # Waldemar Matuška – "Mrholí" # Eva Holubová, Jaroslav Dušek, Marek Morvai-Javorský – "Hoří hovno...?" # Karel Gott &

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

– "Trezor" # Jiří Kodet – "Proletáři všech zemí..." # The Matadors – "Get Down from the Tree" # The Soulmen – "Baby Do Not Cry" # The Soulmen – "I Wish I Were" # Blue Effect – "Snakes" # Miroslav Donutil, Bolek Polívka – "Průměrná ženská" # Blue Effect – "Sluneční hrob"

References

External links

* * *
Cosy Dens
' at

Eurochannel Eurochannel is a world television channel focused on European culture and lifestyle through movies, series and other programs dedicated to European culture. Eurochannel broadcasts in original audio with subtitles in English, French, German, Ital ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosy Dens 1999 films Films set in 1967 Films set in 1968 Czech coming-of-age films Films directed by Jan Hřebejk Prague Spring Communism in fiction Films set in Prague Films set in Czechoslovakia Czech Lion Awards winners (films) Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in popular culture 1990s Czech-language films 1990s coming-of-age films