JIFF: The Man who Stood in the Way

The Story

Australian Premiere

“There is no real difference between what [Leonid Ilyich] Brezhnev did in 1968 and what [Vladimir] Putin is doing today. You must see this film to understand why people like this must be defeated.” – The Guardian

In 1960s Czechoslovakia, a liberation from harsh communist tyranny is taking place, and  one of the faces of this so-called Prague Spring is Jewish physician and politician František Kriegel. The fledgling promise of better times is destroyed when Russian tanks invade, and Kriegel is kidnapped to Moscow.

In captivity, Kriegel and his fellow political leaders are subjected to intense pressure and threats to force their signing of the Moscow Protocol, which would signify consent to the occupation of the country. Every single one of them must sign, so Kriegel must decide between his own safety and taking a moral stand to change the lives of millions. Despite the threat to himself and his loved ones, he defies the Russian dictates. Alone in the middle of the Soviet Union, he finds himself in a place from which many have never returned.

Based on survivor testimony, this unmissable historical drama provides a new perspective of the events of 1968, and highlights the little-known-story of one man who dared to defy the Soviet empire.

Rating

Unclassified 15+

Duration

118 min

Cast

Tomás Töpfer, Adrian Jastraban, Daniel Heriban

Director

Petr Nikolaev