Synopsis
Its the beginning of the 1960s. Two hockey legends, Bo humil Modrý and Augustin Bubník, live a life scarred by a mock tri al that took place in 1950. Former national heroes spent the
best years of their lives in prison along with other teammates for plotting their emigration to the West. Modrý struggles with a serious illness caused by working in the uranium mines.
Bubník suffers from back pain as he tries to continue playing hock ey. It takes all his strength
but he cant imagine his life without it. Above the mere physi cal pain, their souls are
tormented by their past as they try to answer the question: Who has betrayed them? They
are convinced it was their third friend, team captain Vladimír Zábrodský, who, unlike them,
has never ended up in prison. Thats the reason neither of them wants to accept the
invitation to a reunion, a hockey game of their old team. From the
fragments of events
between New Year;s Eve 1949 and the year 1963, a tragic story unravels before the
viewers´ eyes.
On New Year;s Eve of 1948, the core of the team faces an ex traordinary opportunity when the LTC Prague team travels to Da vos, Switzerland for the Spengler Cup. Zábrodský sets up
negotiations with Czech expatri ates in Switzerland, who offer LTC Praha players to emigrate
and thus become the national team in exile. Some players get scared.. The team eventually agrees to vote; they stay in Swit zerland only if all are in favor. They are not. A few players do not agree to flee their country. Zábrodský eventually disagrees with the emigration too, as he is not satisfied with the financial prospect of the offer.
This sequence is layered and blended with fragments from later years.
We see them gathered in a pub “u Herclíků” in March 1950, the play ers frustrated by the
communist party banning their participation in the World Champi onship are drinking away
their sorrows. Augustin Bubník is among them. Neither Modrý nor team captain Zábrodský
are present. After shouting an ti-communist slogans outside the pub at night, the players are arrested for seditious speech and activities.
We see the interrogation led by the feared captain Pergl, who does not hesitate to use
torture to get what he wants from Bubník and others. Their confes sion. They already wanted
to leave their homeland behind back in Davos, they wanted to stay in London UK now and
that they are simply traitors. Bub ník meets with the interrogated Zábrodský but learns he is not being held in custody, Bubník becomes convinced that it was in fact their captain who set
the team up.
In custody, all 11 arrested hockey players still believe this is a bad joke and that nothing can
actually happen to the na tion;s darlings. However, charges are soon brought against them
for attempted emigration.
The communist government does not want to set a precedent of em igration of country´s top
athletes (shortly before the tri al with the hockey players