Champions - Production & Contact Info

Champions (2004)
83 min | Comedy, Drama

Champions (2004)

83 min | Comedy, Drama

Ice hockey is a Czech national obsession, and the country's victory over Russia in the 1969 World Championships, the year following the Soviet invasion, is a celebrated moment in its history. In Marek Najbrt's black comedy, the heroic ...See moreIce hockey is a Czech national obsession, and the country's victory over Russia in the 1969 World Championships, the year following the Soviet invasion, is a celebrated moment in its history. In Marek Najbrt's black comedy, the heroic exploits take place only on a black and white tv screen as a group of representative misfits gather and watch the game in a desolate village on the Czech border. Fuelled by the prophetic visions of an alcoholic, the self-obsessed fans - the owner of a failed pub; a bigoted invalid, Jarda; the neurotic Pavel; Josef (who hopes his father wasn't a Roma); and the bus driver who provides their only link with the outside world - follow a much less successful course than the national team. Alongside them are Zdena, the publican's wife, who hopes for a better life, and a local Sudeten German, who was dispossessed following the war. While consisting of recognisable types, Najbrt's bleak portrait reveals a world of alcoholism, debt, racism, bigotry, and infidelity that trails behind the dreams of nationalism and bears little resemblance to the fantasies of the new consumerism. A clever and multi-levelled film, it provides a sharp antidote to the reconciliatory charms of the conventional Czech comedy. Written by 2004 London Film Festival See less

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Cast	+ Add Cast
11 cast members

Name	Known for
Klára Melísková Zdena Zdena See fewer	I, Olga Hepnarova (2016)
Will Spoor Ziege Ziege See fewer	Pipo de Clown (1958)
Jirí Ornest Pavelec Pavelec See fewer	A Prominent Patient (2016)
Jan Budar Bohous Bohous See fewer	Boredom in Brno (2003)
Leos Noha Karel Karel See fewer	Wasteland (2016)
Tomáš Matonoha Milan (as Tomás Matonoha) Milan (as Tomás Matonoha) See fewer	Polski film (2012)
Josef Polásek Josef Josef See fewer	Polski film (2012)
Cyril Drozda Big Jarda Big Jarda See fewer	The Fury (2016)
Jan Rehák Little Jarda Little Jarda See fewer	Protector (2009)
Radek Kostál Goalkeeper Goalkeeper See fewer	Champions (2004)
Robert Záruba Sports commentator (voice) (uncredited) Sports commentator (voice) (uncredited) See fewer	Zlato doma (2024)