I Served the King of England

UN FILM DE Jiri Menzel

A FILM BY Jiri Menzel

The movie is filled with wonderful moments, set pieces of absurdity, and a richness of humor.""""

- Jonathan F. Richards, Film.com

You are swept away by the beauty of individual moments and by Barnev's extraordinary performance, which beautifully serves I Served the King of England.""""

- Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle

A film as unique as this is a gift that shouldn't be ignored.""""

- Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News

synopsis

Jan Dítì (Ivan Barnev) is short in height, but high in ambition. To put it bluntly, the young provincial waiter wants to become a millionaire. Jan falls in love with Líza (Julia Jentsch), a Sudeten German proud of her Aryan blood. They marry, and soon after Líza is sent to serve on the Polish front, while Jan remains behind to serve as a nurse in a Nazi SS Research Hospital, but when she returns, she has a fortune in rare stamps that Jews had ‘left behind’ … After Líza’s less than heroic death, Jan sells the stamps and becomes … a millionaire. But he only has three years to enjoy his fortune: the new Communist regime puts him behind bars for 15 years. Upon his release Jan reflects on the events that have shaped his life – and to reflect on what might have happened if he had played a different role in these events.