I Served the King of England2006

Director
Jiri Menzel

Acters

Ivan Barnev (Young Jan Dite)
Oldrich Kaiser (Old Jan Dite)
Julia Jentsch (Liza)
Marian Labuda (Walden)
Milan Lasica (Professor)
Zuzana Fialova (Marcela)

A look at the glamorous life at an old-world Prague hotel.

Czechoslovakia, 1963. Jan Dite is released from prison after serving 15 years. On his way back home he recalls his early years as an apprentice waiter, his knack for making money, and his first sexual experiences. Apart from his first lessons in waiting and love-making, he also learned to dream of success. He discovered the lure of wealth. He gained his first experience in a small border town where two ethnic groups used to live side by side in relative peace: Czechs and Germans. All this passes through the mind of the older Dite as he wanders round his new home on the frontier…

A light-hearted take on a turbulent period in the history of 20th-century Czechoslovakia from the great Czech director Jiri Menzel, winner of an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his feature film “Closely Watched Trains.”

“’I Served the King of England’ is like an endless feast, featuring one spectacular course after another. Somehow, you never get so full that you want to push yourself away from the table.” – Capital Times

“An extravagant, visually stunning feast of sensory delights.” – Washington Post

“This episodic, picaresque film is one delightful surprise after another, a complete joy to watch.” – Arizona Republic