Director: Jiri Menzel Writer: Bohumil Hrabal (novel), Jiri Menzel (writer) Starring: Ivan Barnev, Oldrich Kaiser, Julia Jentsch Released: December 26, 2007 Rating: Runtime: 120 minutes Websites: Story: The film focuses on two parallel stories. The first follows the youthful exploits and gradual maturing of an ambitious little man before the War and during the German occupation when, in love and guided by stupidity rather than opportunism, he finds himself on the side of the occupying power. The second story, interlinked with the first, concerns only a short period in his later life when, after years in prison, he seeks peace and solitude in an abandoned German village whose inhabitants were expelled after the war. His peace is only briefly disturbed by the arrival of a young working-class woman. Her youth and vitality bring back memories of his amorous adventures as a young man. Cast: Ivan Barnev Jan Dite, younger Oldrich Kaiser Jan Dite, older Julia Jentsch Liza Martin Huba Skrivanek Marian Labuda Walden Milan Lasica Professor Josef Abrham Hotelier Brandejs Jiri Labus Hotel Boss Jaromir Dulava Waiter Karel Pavel Novy General Istvan Szabo Stock Marketeer Tonya Graves Abyssinian Emperor Rudolf Hrusinsky Tichota Petr Ctvrtnicek Jiri Sestak