Czech Republic, Slovakia, 2015, 92’
directed by: Slávek Horák
written by: Slávek Horák
cast: Alena Mihulová, Boleslav Polívka, Tatiana Vilhelmová, Zuzana Kronerová, Sara Venclovská
cinematography: Jan Šťastný
edited by: Vladimír Barák
producers: Slávek Horák
production: TVORBA Films, Česká televize, Fog'n'Desire Films, Sokol Kollár, Rozhlas a televízia Slovenska, Svoboda & Williams
Czech entry for the 88th Academy Awards; Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2015 – Best Actress Award
A bitter-sweet comedy drama about confrontation with mortality, told in the cheerful style od Czech village comedies. Fifty-year-old Vlasta is a jovial housewife and nurse in constant motion. She travels though Czech countryside and visits her eccentric patients. She is also a committed mother and wife and always puts other people's needs before of her own. Vlasta's traditional and conservative husband spends his time indulging in his own pastimes, ignoring Vlasta's needs and emotions. But when Vlasta is diagnosed with cancer, her family and patients – even Vlasta herself – are forced to realize that she needs help, too. Inspired by his mother's stories, who was a nursing attendant herself, Slávek Horák sets his plot in his native town Zlín, filming it even in his parents' home and backyard. The result: an intimate and natural atmosphere of striking authenticity.
Slávek Horák was born in 1975. He studied at the Zlín Film School and attended Prague’s FAMU. He has become successful directing commercial spots, but has also worked on feature films. As second assistant director, he worked on the set of Jan Svěrák’s Kolya, which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Two of his short films were screened in Cannes. Home Care is his debut feature and Czech entry for this year's Academy Awards.
