After Alexander Dubcek became Czechoslovakia’s leader in 1968, a new energy flowed through Czechoslovakia. reforms without fundamentally destroying the country’s communist framework. The Soviet Union detested this plan and attempted to suppress it with force. Their military intervention, in which the government and its Warsaw Pact allies sent troops, ended the period now known as the Prague Spring.
exist wave, For the Czech Republic, in contention for the 2025 Oscars, Jirí Mádl has crafted a gripping thriller about a group of journalists who doggedly pursue the truth in the months leading up to the Prague Spring and during the Soviet occupation. The film was inspired by real events Marder encountered while researching how the international press office of Czechoslovak Radio operated in the 1960s. At the time, the office was led by Milan Weiner, a tenacious manager who made editorial changes to help state-sanctioned radio stations circumvent censorship. He encouraged journalists to verify information with independent sources (rather than those provided by the Czechoslovak government) and invited dissenting opinions to be discussed.
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A stirring portrait of principled reporting.
Throw: Vojtěch Vodochodský, Ondřej Stupka, Tatiana Pauhofová, Stanislav Majer, Vojtěch Kotek, Marika Šoposká
Director and screenwriter: Jiri Mader
2 hours 11 minutes
Because of its focus on the news gathering process, wave Affirmed the importance of independent and ethical reporting. Marder’s film, which is still seeking U.S. distribution, may have particular resonance with American audiences grappling with the reality of misinformation and the changing image of journalists in the public imagination. How the media research and present their stories has never been more important.
wave Moral issues are explored through the intimate story of two brothers trying to survive. After the death of his parents, politically aloof young Tomas (the excellent Wojtek Wodhodsky) assumes custody of his teenage brother Paia (Ondrej Stupka). Their situation is precarious: early on, Thomas cuts mold on a piece of sourdough bread to supplement his meager meal, a sign of the family’s poverty. Representatives from Children’s Services can separate the brothers at any time.
But Paha is not worried about such state interference. The youngest wanted a revolution; he participated in secret meetings and demonstrations with other student activists fighting for free speech. They were inspired by Weiner’s (Stanislav Mayer) work at a radio station.
Mader starts wave The brothers’ different interests are cleverly displayed. The opening montage introduces a thrilling tension that the director masterfully maintains throughout the film, interspersing chaotic scenes of protesters, with Pahar somewhere among them, fending off the police, Thomas Quietly baking bread and calling neighbors looking for his brother.
After returning home, Paha excitedly told Thomas that Weiner’s radio show was about to begin. The next day, there was an audition for the coveted position—a test of sorts, and Paha wanted to apply. Thomas forbids this, but Paha, in the style of rebellious teenagers and younger siblings everywhere, ignores him. Somehow, both brothers took the test, and ironically, Thomas got the job.
wave After these establishing moments, the action is swift and effective. Marder uses a few time jumps to build momentum and translate the dizzying speed of the changing political climate. Encouraged by his current boss, Thomas accepted a job as a technician at the Weiner station. (He withheld news from Paha in a way that required a suspension of disbelief.) Once integrated into this team of intrepid reporters, Thomas learned more about newsgathering and radio broadcasting methods, and began to recognize Weiner and his comrades are fighting for their worth. He befriends Wiener, a distant source of inspiration, and becomes close to the translator Vera (Tatiana Bokhovva), whom everyone finds aloof.
But just as Thomas adjusts to his new life, he’s asked by his former boss (and then threatened by the state police force) to essentially become an informant. He reluctantly agrees, and Wadohowsky’s performance soars in these moments when the soft-spoken Thomas finds himself in morally dark territory. As his character weighs the pain of a snitching colleague against the grief of losing his only surviving family member, a visceral sense of hurt and anxiety flashes across the actor’s face that complicates our understanding of his character.
At times, though, Marder’s screenplay briefly abandons Tomas and Pahar in favor of subplots (office matters, general politics), thus weakening the work’s impact. At times, Marder leaves Paja for so long that his re-entry into the story feels sudden. One wishes the brothers had more screen time to consider how their respective political leanings challenge and change their relationship.
still, wave There are other areas of excellence as well, particularly in Mádl’s use of archival material. The director scatters these sequences throughout the film, sometimes making grainy footage of Czech citizens taking to the streets during protests or Soviet tanks rolling into Prague look indistinguishable from fictional retellings. The effect is dazzling. it connects elegantly wave Reaching back to the real-life past makes it easier for viewers to understand why protecting this kind of principled reporting is necessary in the future.
