Just a few days after the Czech film Protektor took a prize at a festival in Denver, another ambitious project is just entering the cinemas across the country. The film 3 sezóny v pekle or 3 Seasons in Heli is a debut by Tomáš Mašín. A Czech, Slovak and German co-production has already received praise by Czech reviewers.
Tomáš Mašín is a respected director of commercials and music videos. The screenplay for his feature film, 3 Seasons in Hell, was inspired by the youthful memoirs of Egon Bondy, one of the most important figures of the Czechoslovak literary scene.
Political background
The film takes place in Prague over three years, from 1947 to 1950 and it is about a young guy who likes to rebel and wants to find his own way in his life and love. Of course the politics which happen in the background of the story affect the life of the hero.
While the producer stresses that 3 Seasons in Hell is not a political film, critics say it is exactly the historical background that makes it more than just an ordinary love story. Thanks to his experience with commercials, Mašín recreated an unbelievably truthful picture of Prague of the late 1940s.
The filmmakers are now hoping that their love story based in Communist Czechoslovakia will appeal not only to domestic but also to international audiences.
