By Ryan Keating-Lambert
Jiří Mádl’s heartfelt 2019 film On the Roof is now available to stream on Netflix in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The award-winning film sees illegal Vietnamese immigrant Song (‘Lukáš’ Duy Anh Tran) taken in by the bitter Professor Rypar (Alois Švehlík) when he finds him on the roof of his building in Prague. The two form an unlikely bond portrayed wonderfully by the two actors, and was nominated for seven Czech Lion awards earlier this year, including Best Supporting Actor for breakout star Tran.
Filmed in Prague, On the Roof had a rough start to production. The part of Professor Rypar was originally to be played by Czech actor Jan Tříska, who tragically passed away days before shooting. However, National Theatre veteran Alois Švehlík agreed to step in to take his place and bring the wonderful character to life.
Jiří Mádl is a Czech actor, writer and director who you may recognise from films like teen comedy and drama Cans (Gympl), and war drama Colette – both available to watch on Netflix. He was also the youngest ever winner of the Crystal Globe for Best Actor at the Karlovy Vary IFF for his role in the Michaela Pavlátová 2008 drama Night Owls (Děti noci). At the age of 27, he wrote and directed his first feature film To See the Sea (Pojedeme k moři), also on Netflix.
Photo: Falcon CZ
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