Name a famous Czech TV series? It’s not easy, I’ll give you that. Nothing immediately springs to mind, so this drama didn’t particularly raise my expectations. But – not for the first time – I was very wrong.
If you want to avoid all spoilers, stop reading now.
‘The Actor’ is set in Czechoslovakia in the 1950s. Stanislav Lanik (Jan Sina) is about a young man who lives in an apartment with his grandmother and sister, both of whose parents have passed away – his father died in a protest and his mother. Stan is a mature and promising actor, but although he gets good reviews for his performance, his political beliefs mean that the director of the theater company cannot use him for fear of damage to the company.
In addition to his acting skills, Stan has a keen interest in mathematics. But he is poor, and has no chance of studying with the country’s elite. That is until one of his political allies gets a job at the university – as a maintenance man. Stan meets his math professor under the pretense of fixing the radiators in the residence halls, impressing him with his intelligence and math skills.
However, it soon becomes clear that Professor Stan is not only interested in his mind. He suggests the fan meet up with his house in the woods so they can study together for the upcoming exam. Stan soon discovers that the professor has an ulterior motive for inviting him to the private retreat. But rather than push him, he chooses to succumb to the old man’s attention.
However, when a gang of men invades the house, they arrest the professor for homosexuality – and we soon learn that Stan is not the innocent victim we think he is.
Meanwhile, back at the apartment, Stan’s sister Anezka (Genovefa Bokova) is asleep in the bathroom. The water is overflowing and the landlord – who wants them out of the building – closes the door to warn them that it is causing a flood. During the argument, he loses his temper and attacks and dares Anezka.
You realize by now that this is not a lightweight television stream. It’s a compelling, insightful drama where there’s no such thing as black and white, good and evil – it recognizes that we all have a little bit of it inside of us. The script, the acting, the direction – everything is first rate. John Cena is great in the lead role, and the supporting cast does a great job as well. The action is occasionally interspersed with realistic vintage footage from the 1950s – the grainy, blurry imagery adds to the atmosphere of dread in the post-war years.
Each episode is around 90 minutes, which gives us time to breathe and lets us get to know the characters and their foibles. But the 90 minutes doesn’t drag – it’s completely engrossing and engrossing.
‘Actor’ (also known as ‘Herek’) won Best TV Series at the Venice TV Awards and was nominated for various awards in his native Chechnya. It certainly deserves a wider audience, and I’m sure Walter Presents followers will agree that this is one of the best he’s ever offered.
Walter Presents: ‘Actor’ is available as a complete box set on C4 Streaming.
