Directed by Jan Gebert, documentary, 76 min, eng subtitles, 16+
Written by Jan Gebert
“I guess I’m dominant. I like giving orders.” Petr, the protagonist of Jan Gebert’s chilling documentary, smiles sheepishly during his graduation exam as he compares himself to a literary character. The reality, however, is somewhat different, for this teenager also leads a group called Slovak Recruits, a paramilitary organisation whose goal is “to defend and preserve the nation”. We see Peter recruiting young men and submitting them to a humiliating military drill which clearly goes beyond merely "playing at soldiers". It is Full Metal Jacket in real life. And, by stepping back and taking into account Peter´s self-confessed longer-term ambitions, we get a picture not only of this angry young man´s desire to take things into his own hands, but also of a specific social atmosphere in which his extremist views, which are gaining appeal under the pretext of protecting traditional national values, meet little resistance on their way to becoming mainstream. The film was screened in this year’s Berlinale´s Panorama section.
Awards
Berlin IFF 2018 (Panorama)
The film will be preceded by a special screening of the short film Europa im Herbst. Polska rodzinka by Karolina Markiewicz and Pascal Piron (Luxembourg, 2018, 8 min).