In the Škoda factory, where they are feverishly rearming in 1914, works the foreman Kalina, the father of the young men Pavel and Jan. Pavel is a supporter of the monarchy, while Jan, on the contrary, defends the idea of our national independence. Just before mobilization, Jan escapes to Russia, where he joins a group of volunteer legionnaires called the "Czech Company", fighting against the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Pavel enlists in the Austrian army. The brothers do not meet again until July 1917 in the battle of Zborov in Ukraine, which marked a successful breakthrough of the Austro-Hungarian front.
Production
Actual 1939 Škoda factory footage feels eerily authentic.
Direction
Dual directors somehow keep this propaganda-adjacent story human.
Director
Jiří Slavíček
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released months before Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia—this film's patriotic messaging became dangerously subversive almost immediately.
Real Battle of Zborov was Czechoslovak Legion's first major victory; this 1939 retelling conveniently ignores that Russia was about to have its own revolution.
XC
