Shadows of a Hot Summer(Stíny horkého léta)

One family’s sanctuary on a remote farm is upended by the arrival of a troop of Ukrainian Insurgent Army soldiers. Even though the war has ended, one of their number is injured, so they hold up with Ondřej and his family until he can fetch the local doctor to care for him. Before long, these unwanted house guests bring intimidation and violence into the home, when they take a shine to Ondřej’s beautiful wife, Tereza. Bearing numerous similarities to Peckinpah’s perennially controversial Straw Dogs (1971), and by extension Bergman’s The Virgin Spring (1960), Vláčil crafts a pressure cooker of tension in which men of war can rarely find peace, even after politicians have brought an end to the conflict.

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival: Crystal Globe for Best Film