On the Roof

Ageing professor Rypar discovers a Vietnamese boy called Song on the roof of his Prague apartment building. The lad is about to jump – he’s in a state because he hasn’t got any papers and the police caught him during a raid. Initially, Rypar doesn’t trust the wan-looking Song but then he offers him the job of cleaning his flat in order to ease his own solitary routine. He helps him to improve his Czech and also starts losing at chess, a game at which Song excels. This small-scale piece about an unlikely pair is supported by masterful performances, in particular from Alois Švehlík in the role of Rypar, who combines sarcasm with vulnerability. After his resourceful directorial debut To See the Sea, actor Jiří Mádl tells a universally comprehensible story about the simple fact that we all need somebody. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)