I SERVED THE KING OF ENGLAND, directed by Jir Menzel, is this years official Academy Award Nominee for Best Foreign Language Film from the Czech Republic.
The film focuses on two parallel stories.
The first follows the youthful exploits and gradual maturing of an ambitious young man, Jan Dte, before the War and during the German occupation. In love and guided by naviety rather than opportunism, Dte finds himself on the side of the occupying power.
The second story interlinked with the first, concerns only a short period in Dtes later life when, after years in prison, he seeks peace and solitude in an abandoned German village whose inhabitants were expelled after the war. His peace is only briefly disturbed by the arrival of Marcela, a young working-class woman. Her youth and vitality bring back memories of his amorous adventures as a young man.
Dialogue is in Czech with English subtitles.
Running time: 115 minutes.