Football hooligans smash trains and souls in Communist Czechoslovakia's hidden gem.
Why? (Czech: Proč?) is a 1987 Czechoslovak drama film directed by Karel Smyczek. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival. The film deals with the hooliganism in Czechoslovakia, particularly with the fans of football club Sparta from Prague, whose supporters were the pioneers of the football fan riots in Czechoslovakia, starting with hooligan actions already in the 1960s, like breaking the trains in which they travelled when they went on Sparta's away games. The film deals with one of such episodes
Direction
Smyczek's unflinching handheld camera puts you on that train.
Acting
Langmajer's Jirka—charming, terrifying, utterly lost.
Production
Shot in actual '80s Prague, impossible to fake.
Director
Karel Smyczek
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Sparta Prague fans remain infamous; the film's 'train incidents' were real Communist-era events the regime tried to suppress.
Smyczek used actual hooligans as extras; several were arrested during production for starting real fights on set.
XC
