''Zátopek'' is a 2021 Czech biographical film about

Emil Zátopek Emil Zátopek (; 19 September 1922 – 21 November 2000) was a Czech long-distance runner best known for winning three gold medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He won gold in the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres runs, but his final ...

. It is directed by

David Ondříček David Ondříček (born 23 June 1969) is a Czech film director, screenwriter and producer. In 2021, he won the Czech Lion Award for Best Director, Best Director Czech Lion Award for ''Zátopek (film), Zátopek.'' His 2012 film ''In the Shadow (2 ...

and stars Václav Neužil. It was selected as the Czech entry for the Best International Feature Film at the

94th Academy Awards The 94th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The awards were scheduled after their usual late February dat ...

Plot

Ron Clarke competes at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

but fails to win any medal. Feeling disappointed that he might have lost his last chance to win an Olympics medal he starts to doubt his career and decides to meet Emil Zátopek whom he adores. The film is about their dialogue during which audience can learn retrospectively about Zátopek's sport career and his life.

Cast

* Václav Neužil as

* Martha Issová as Dana Zátopková * as Josef Dostál *

James Frecheville James Aitken Frecheville (;) is an Australian actor. Following his film debut in the crime drama film '' Animal Kingdom'' (2010), Frecheville subsequently appeared in films such as ''Adoration'' (2013), '' The Drop'' (2014), '' I.T.'' (2016), '' ...

Ron Clarke Ronald William Clarke, Officer of the Order of Australia, AO, Member of the Order of the British Empire, MBE (21 February 1937 – 17 June 2015) was an Australian athlete, writer, and the Mayor of the Gold Coast from 2004 to 2012. He was one o ...

* Gabriel Andrews as Ron's Trainer * Sinead Phelps as Helen * Sean Brodeur as English Soldier * Anna Schmidtmajerová as Dana's friend * Filipp Mogilnitskiy as Soviet journalist * Roy McCrerey as English Commentator * Daniela Hirsh as Translator * Kevin Clarke as Disgruntled Spectator

Production

came up with an idea for the film in 2007 and started to work on the screenplay and started to prepare the film after he finished '' Dukla 61''. In 2015, Ondříček started to gather finances for the film and submitted application for a grant from Czech State Fund for Cinematography but was twice rejected. After the release of Ondříček's film ''Dukla 61'', Ondříček's third request was accepted and Zátopek received subsidy of 15 million CZK allowing Ondříček to renew preparations. Shooting started on 29 April 2019 at Březnice stadium near Příbram. Scenes shot there with the main actors also included around 150 extras and were considered one of the most cost complicated in the film due to number of people. Main parts of the film were shot from August 2019. Crew were shooting on various athletic areas such as Riegrovy sady or Za Lužánkami Stadium which served as replacement for

London Olympic Stadium London Stadium (formerly and also known as the Olympic Stadium and the Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park) is a multi-purpose outdoor stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the Stratford, London, Stratford district of London. It is loc ...

and the

Helsinki Olympic Stadium The Helsinki Olympic Stadium (; ), located in the Töölö district about from the centre of the Finnish capital Helsinki, is the largest stadium in the country. The stadium is best known for being the centre of activities in the 1952 Summer ...

. The stadium had to be adjusted for the shooting. Shooting concluded in November 2019. First trailer for the film was released on 30 December 2019.

Release

The film was originally set to premiere on 13 August 2020, but was delayed for 2021 due to

COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic The COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic was a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organiza ...

. A new date was set for 12 August 2021. It was eventually moved to 20 August 2021 during the 55th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Distribution for cinemas was set for 26 August 2021. On 19 September 2022 the film was released on Voyo streaming service.

Reception

Critical reception

''Zátopek'' has received generally positive reviews from critic holding 82% on Kinobox.

Accolades

The film won the audience award at the

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 ...

garnering a 1.13 rating from the audience narrowly beating ''

Quo Vadis, Aida? ''Quo Vadis, Aida?'' ( ''Where are you going, Aida?'') is a 2020 internationally co-produced war drama film written, produced and directed by Jasmila Žbanić. An international co-production of twelve production companies, the film was shown in ...

''.

References

External links

* *
Zátopek
' at CSFD.cz {{Czech Lion Film Fans Award 2021 films 2021 biographical drama films 2021 drama films 2020s Czech-language films 2020s sports drama films Czech biographical drama films Biographical films about sportspeople Czech historical drama films Czech Lion Awards winners (films) Czech sports drama films Films about the 1948 Summer Olympics Films about the 1952 Summer Olympics Films about the 1968 Summer Olympics Films about Olympic track and field Films set in London Films set in Helsinki Films set in Mexico City Films shot in the Czech Republic