Movie news on your iPhone today!
Advertisement
Sign in
Username   Password         Forgot password?
Wanna join? Sign up
Find movies you'll love
I Served the King of England
  • 0
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Rate this movie.

Watch trailer Watch trailer

Rent it, watch it, find it

Advertisement
Synopsis
Despite the 1997 death of longtime friend and Closely Watched Trains collaborator Bohumil Hrabal, 1960s-era Czech New Wave filmmaker Jiri Menzel enters into a post-mortem collaboration with the famed author in this pitch black comedy detailing the shrewd rise of an ambitious waiter. All diminutive manservant Jan Dite (Ivan Barnev) ever wanted was to be filthy rich and to preside over his very own hotel. As a young man coming of age in the 1930s, Jan was preoccupied by beautiful women and awe-stricken by the fact that anyone, be they rich or poor, would bend to their knees to pick up a coin. With World War II fast approaching and the Germans steadily taking occupation of Czech territory, the opportunistic servant begins his rapid ascent up the hospitality ladder by working for a number of high-profile figures. Though Jan was never a man to settle down with just one woman, his growing attraction to Aryan beauty Liza (Julia Jentsch) soon found the aspiring hotelier proposing marriage. Of course a blueblood Teuton like Liza could never wed a man unable to provide proof of his German heritage, but that doesn't stop Jan from doing his best to please her in the bedroom. Later, when Liza is killed retrieving a box of valuable stamps acquired during her stint at the Russian front, Jan uses the valuable collectors items to purchase the very hotel in which he used to work. Unfortunately for Jan good luck is always followed by bad news, and it's not long before his life's ambition comes crumbling down all around him. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Cast

Marian Labuda Walden
Oldrich Kaiser Jan Díte, Young
Jiri Labus Hotel Chief
Martin Huba Skrivánek
Milan Lasica Professor
Pavel Nový General
Josef Abrhám Brandejs Hotelier
Rudolf Hrusínsky Hotelier Tichota
Julia Jentsch Liza
Zuzana Fialova Marcela
Ivan Barnev Jan Díte, Old
Tonya Graves The Emperor
Jaromír Dulava Waiter Karel

Production Crew

Pavel Cechak Associate Producer
Bohumil Hrabal Book Author
Jaromir Sofr Cinematographer
Helena Uldrichova Co-producer
L'Uba Féglová Co-producer
Petr Dvorák Co-producer
Vit Komrzy Co-producer
Ales Brezina Composer (Music Score)
Milan Corba Costume Designer
Jirí Menzel Director
Jiri Brozek Editor
Rudolf Biermann Executive Producer
Jiri Jr. Kacirek First Assistant Director
Jirina Pahlerová Makeup
Andrea Metcalfe Producer
Robert Schaffer Producer
Rudolf Biermann Producer
Jan Balzer Production Designer
Milan Býcek Production Designer
Pavel Cechak Production Manager
Jan Balzer Production Supervisor
Jirí Menzel Screenwriter
Radim Hladik, Jr. Sound/Sound Designer
Year: 2008
Runtime: 118
Country: Czech Republic
MPAA Rating:
for sexual content and nudity
Category: Feature

Genre
Drama

Sound
Dolby Digital

Produced by
AQS
Barrandov Studios
Bioscop
IN FILM
Magic Box Slovakia
TV NOVA
Universal Production Partners

Release
August 22, 2008 (USA - Limited)
by Sony Pictures Classics

Awards
2007 - FIPRESCI Prize - Berlin International Film Festival
2007 - Film Presented - Karlovy Vary International Film Festiva
2007 - Film Presented - Montreal World Film Festival
2007 - Film Presented - Chicago International Film Festival
2007 - Film Presented - Vancouver International Film Festival
2007 - Film Presented - Montréal World Film Festival
2008 - Film Presented - San Francisco International Film Festiv
2008 - Film Presented - Florida Film Festival