Nationalstrasse

In a bleak housing block on the outskirts of Prague, Vandam, a heavy drinker and brawler, rages against the impending loss of his local pub, Severka. Capitalism has arrived, and the owner, Lucka, is under pressure to pay off her debts to the sleazy upstart Milner—otherwise, the demolition trucks will roll in. But Vandam, who does not want to give up his home without a fight, resorts to the means he knows best : violence and resistance. The drama is based on the novel of the same name by Jaroslav Rudiš and was transformed into gripping images by director Štěpán Altrichter. The story could take place in any European city, where people are overwhelmed by an increasingly complex world and desperately try to defend their identity and their living space. NATIONAL AVENUE celebrated its premiere at the renowned Max Ophüls Prize Film Festival 2020 in Saarbrücken, where it received much praise for its unsparing yet empathetic narrative style. Hynek Čermák, in particular, was honored for his powerful performance in the role of Vandam, and the film received several nominations at the Český lev (Czech Lion) awards. Štěpán Altrichter succeeds in immersing himself in Vandam's milieu in a differentiated and loving way, even though Vandam himself is trapped in rigid, old-fashioned thought patterns. The film offers an impressive portrait of an outsider while also highlighting the social fractures and contradictions of our time.