THE MOVING PICTURE BOY ARCHIVE
SVĚDOMÍ

Title: Svědomí
English translation of title: Conscience
Date of release: 1948
Country of Production: Czechoslovakia
Director: Jiří Krejčík
Genre: Psychological drama
Principal Boy Actors: Jan Prokeš, as Jirka; Jindřich Fairaizl, as Jirka's best friend Tonda; Jirka's class contains many other boys (no girls), one of which, Vasek, played by Bohumil Vild, has a prominent role. Ivan Jandl (of The Search fame) has a minor role as Lojzek, the friend of the boy who is run over by Jirka's father.
Language: Czech
Availability: official DVD available
Subtitles: available from opensubtitles.org (subtitles by 'diogenes')
Synopsis
Karel Doležal is a respectable family man, with a wife and two kids, the eldest of which, Jirka (played by Jan Prokeš, who was around 13 at time of filming) idolises him. But driving back from a business trip, during which he spent a night with his secretary, Karel knocks a boy over, and flees the scene. In a parallel story, Jirka and his friend Tonda break a statue at their school, and also flee before they can be discovered as the culprits. As both find the consequences of their respective acts causing ever widening ripples in unexpected ways, both must decide whether they can find the courage to confess their respective deeds.
As a matter of social interest, judging from this movie, all Czech boys around this time seemed to wear shorts rather than long trousers.
Below: front cover of DVD, showing Jan Prokeš (left) with Miloš Nedbal, his on-screen father.
Gallery of Stills
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