The Gardener’s Year

The gardener (Oldřich Kaiser) and his wife live at the foot of a picturesque hill, tending to their small garden. Their idyllic life is disrupted by a new owner who moves into a nearby mansion and plans to buy all the surrounding land, including the gardener’s property. When the gardener ignores his offer, a series of bizarre events unfolds. The new owner erects a razor-wire fence on the edge of the gardener’s land and closes off the access road. As he intensifies his actions to achieve his goal, the gardener refuses to give up and fights to defend his home. While the police and the mayor become bogged down in municipal bureaucracy, the gardener decides to take matters into his own hands. Jiří Havelka’s new film, balancing on the edge of absurdity and tragicomedy, is inspired by a true story and the literary work of Karel Čapek of the same name.

CZ, 2024, 104 min.; cz / en sub