Zátopek

The perils and perks of being an elite athlete in “socialist” Czechoslovakia provide the backdrop to this engaging biopic of Emil Zátopek (1922 – 2000), played here by the excellent Va´clav Neuz?il as a humble boy from Kopr?ivnice who becomes his country’s greatest Olympian. We see key moments in the sporting and personal life of this accidental runner, who’s on-the-track-talent first became apparent when he was forced into a race by his supervisor from the Bata shoe factory in Zli´n. A brave, charming and eccentric man of indomitable will-power, Zátopek was a favorite of the media, who delighted in his quips. Once asked, “What do you do when you just can’t go on?” He replied, “When I can’t go on, I go harder.” The film also traces one of the great love stories in sports, that between Zátopek and his compatriot, the tart-tongued javelin thrower Dana Ingrová (compellingly performed by the formidable Martha Issova´).

Director Biography

David Ondrícek was born in Prague and is regarded as one of the Czech Republic’s most acclaimed filmmakers. His feature films include Septej (1996), Loners (2000), One Hand Can't Clap (2003), Grandhotel (2006), In the Shadow (2012), and his most recent feature, Zátopek (2021).

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