Two mischievous adolescent boys embark on a journey of imaginative misadventure and coming-of-age self-discovery, in Olmo Omerzu's road-trip comedy celebrating the need to indulge the innocence, impulsiveness, and irrepressibility of youth.
Celebrating the innocence of youth and its impulsive and inventive thirst for adventure, Olmo Omerzu’s Winter Flies is a wonderfully entertaining road trip into teenage imagination and its inevitable destination: a sobering coming of age.
On a bright, wintry day, cherubic and ingenuous Heduš catches doe-eyed friend Mára and his stolen car in his BB gun’s crosshairs. He spontaneously decides to accompany Mára on a journey without destination. Two curious teenagers barely old enough to see the reality that lies beyond their dashboard, they heedlessly take on the adventures that come their way, from rescuing a canine companion from drowning to picking up their instant teenage crush, hitchhiker Bara.
The picaresque journey is told in counterpoint to Mára’s interrogation by small-town cops. With each episode recounted bringing the story closer to the present arrest, Heduš and Mára’s future remains theirs to be written.
Omerzu casts a loving glance upon his young protagonists, allowing first-time actors Jan František Uher and Tomáš Mrvík to shine. They push the narrative possibilities of their story in order to bring the magical out of the real. The film is a bittersweet comedy that reminds us to indulge our inner child and the innocent pleasures of youth.
DIMITRI EIPIDES
Screenings
Scotiabank 6
Jackman Hall
Jackman Hall
Scotiabank 6