Ročník 21


Ročník 21 is a Czechoslovak-East German film directed by Václav Gajer. It was released in 1958 one year after its production.

Premise

Honzík, a young Czech, falls in love with Käthe, a German nurse, during his time as a forced labourer in Germany.

Cast

Production

The film is an adaptation of Ročník jedenadvacet, a 1953 Czech novel by Karel Ptáčník.
Ročník 21's original official distributor presented it as follows:
"The film was created in cooperation between the Barrandov Film Studio and the East German studio DEFA as one of first international co-productions. It was filmed partly in the original exteriors of bombed-out Dresden."

Release

Ročník 21 premiered on February, 2 1958.

Reception

Audiences' response in East Germany is said to have been "reserved" but "Walter Ulbricht praised the movie".
Ročník 21 has been described as "having captured the fate of a generation". "This romance filmed in the austere style of Italian neo-realism, without idealisation and pathos of Gajer's previous films, portrays the stories of Czech boys taken to Germany where they become forced workers."