Kolya

Synopsis
When a financially strapped former symphony cellist, now making a meager living by playing at funerals, gets pressured into a paper marriage with a friend's single-mother niece, his roving-eye bachelor life is turned upside-down. The beautiful young woman immediately abandons her new husband and her five-year-old son, and the unlikely duo struggles to adjust to their new lives in Prague on the eve of 1989's Velvet Revolution. Winner of the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. Academy Award: Best Foreign Language Film.

Production Notes
Co-produced by Biograf Jan Sverak Pictures (Prague), in association with Czech Television, Lucerna Film, CCV, AND Cinemart.
Shown at the 1996 Venice, Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals.

Zdenek Sverak, who wrote and stars in this film, is the father of director Jan Sverak.

Reviews
"...A feel-good movie dealing in part with Soviet bloc bureaucracies in 1988..." -- 3 out of 4 stars (USA Today)

"...[Kolya] balances heartwarming sentiment with gentle humor and observations that strike universal chords..." (Variety)

"...A gem of a Czech film....Wise and worldly..." (New York Times)

"...Lovely....It's a heart melter....Chalimon is a gem..." -- Rating: A- (Entertainment Weekly)

"...KOLYA is a crowd-pleaser....Chalimon is irresistible....With the further pluses of luminous cinematography and a soaring, emotional score, KOLYA can't miss..." (Los Angeles Times)

"...There are some lovely, affecting and warmly amusing moments here..." (Chicago Sun-Times)