Read the interview with the director of this year’s Czech Oscar candidate film, an untypical comedy called Home Care, which surprised both the audience and critics to a fair degree and thrilled at the premiere last summer at Karlovy Vary Film Festival. Director Slávek Horák chose for his feature debut a subject he is quite familiar with. This comedy drama about facing mortality focuses on 50-year-old Vlasta, a vibrant housewife and caretaker who travels around rural Czech landscape visiting her eccentric patients. She is also a devoted mother and wife who always puts other people’s needs before her own. Slávek Horák was interviewed by Nino Kovačić.
Home Care was inspired by your mother’s story?
Yes, my mother worked as a caretaker for most of her life. She would always tell me small crazy stories about her old and confused patients, but I never listened – that’s my crazy mother telling stories! However, when I started to look for a story for my film, I began listening and soon realised that this was the film I was looking for, right under my nose the whole time.
Was the husband Lada character also based on a real person or is he, in a way, typical of his environment?
Quite simply, he is my father. A very typical man for his generation, from Moravia. Afraid to show his emotional side, hidden behind jokes, running to his workshop instead of facing feelings and relationships.
You were filming at your parents’ home in your native Zlin. Did you aim to achieve a certain atmosphere of authenticity?
As two lead characters are based on my parents, this seemed like the most natural environment: my parents’ home, their vineyard, my father’s workshop. We didn’t have a set designer, we just came ‘home’. The leading actress is even wearing my mother’s clothes.
One of film’s strongpoints is definitely the outstanding cast. How did you decide to hire these particular people?
I wanted actors from this region and, luckily, the greatest Czech actor Bolek Polivka was born and grew up 30 kilometres off my native town. Choosing a leading actor was easy: he read the script and immediately knew who this man was. It was him. Choosing a leading actress was somewhat more complicated, but finally came Alena Mihulova, also from the region, who was both my mother’s and my choice (‘Who is going to play me?’ – ‘You tell me, Mama!’)
Home Care is a comedy we don’t laugh at long and a tragedy interspersed with humour. Is this emotion switch your life credo?
This is how I see life. A mixture of comedy and drama, to me, reflects the true wealth of life. This is not an artistic concept, this is me and wanted to get this point across. Although I intertwined these two basic modes (and their subtleties), I didn’t just juxtapose them, I rather wanted to blend them together so that the comedy replenishes the drama and vice versa.
This is not a typical Czech comedy, one of a kind the world audience is used to from the 60s and filmmakers like Miloš Forman and Jiri Menzel, but were you at all inspired by these films?
I feel there is a connection with the 1960s generation, whose films I very much appreciate. Not a literal, but an unconscious one. Ivan Passer, a magnificent Czech director at the time, confirmed it when he saw my film recently. It was, of course, a great compliment; his films are closest to my heart because they portray life as I see it.
In your first feature film you play a triple role: screenwriter, director and producer. What was the most demanding thing and what did you learn from this experience?
I produced out of need, because no one else had the time. Writing and directing naturally blended as I was writing about my parents. The most important thing I learned was to take one step at a time and not mix these three roles. I was writing the script for two years and only when it was completely over I switched to fundraising, which took two months. When I was able to hire a line producer, I fully focused on directing. Writing was by far the most demanding part, but I partly did it with most pleasure as I was doing it alone, without the pressure of a film crew around me.
Did you have issues with fundraising or did you have to compromise with the initial script?
To my great surprise, no. I believe it was because I began looking for funds with a completed script. Luckily, people were touched by it and I was immediately granted funds. In the Czech Republic there also only three real sources of financing and they gave me immense support (Czech Film Fund, Czech Television and Slovakian Audiovisual Fund). There was no compromise and the film would have been the same even if had gathered twice as much. Perhaps the catering would have been better on the set.
Do you have a new feature film in store? Have your ambitions grown since Home Care became the Czech Oscar candidate?
One thing growing is the number of hours spent on flights to promote this film. I started writing a new project last summer, but I decided first to take good care of Home Care’s promotion – who knows if I’ll ever again be invited to festivals and receive awards. I better be enjoying this!
The first screening of Home Care is scheduled for Thrusday, 19 November, 1t 7pm, Europa Cinema. Check out more details in our schedule.