Servants / Služobníci
Slovakia, Romania, Czech Republic, Ireland 2020
Directed by Ivan Ostrochovský, drama, 80 min, eng subtitles, 16+
Written by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Marek Leščák, Ivan Ostrochovský
With Samuel Skyva, Samuel Polakovič, Vlad Ivanov, Vladimir Strnisko, Milan Mikulcik
1980s totalitarian Czechoslovakia. Juraj and Michal, two high-school friends, enter a theological seminary where, out of fear that their school could be closed, tutors mould the attitudes of the young seminarians along lines pleasing to the ruling Communist party. The young students are faced with the difficult decision of whether to conform and collaborate with the regime, or choose the path of resistance and become subject to draconian surveillance perpetrated by the secret police.
Shot in luminous black-and-white and employing a claustrophobic, old-fashioned 4:3 aspect ratio, Servants is a tightly scripted film-noirish drama of temptation, courage and faith. The film premiered at this year’s Berlinale.
With the support of the Slovak Embassy in Brussels and the association 