15/11/2023 - Czech documentary filmmaker Petr Hátle ventures into fiction filmmaking with a stark true crime drama about an ordinary Czech couple turned serial killers

Celebrated for The Great Night, a nocturnal odyssey into society's underbelly that won the award for Best Czech Documentary at Ji.hlava IDFF and the Golden Kingfisher for Best Documentary at Finále Plzeň, and for his contribution to the acclaimed Art Talent Show [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Adéla Komrzý and Tomás Bojar
film profile], Czech documentarian Petr Hátle takes a directorial leap into fiction with Mr. and Mrs. Stodola [+see also:
interview: Petr Hátle
film profile], world-premiered in the First Feature Competition at the Black Nights Film Festival. This true crime biopic focuses on the infamous Czech husband-and-wife team known for their 2001-2002 killing spree in the tranquil hamlet of Slavošov, in the Kutná Hora region, during which they preyed on the most vulnerable members of society: the elderly. Hátle's film dramatises the ascent, rampage, and downfall of the unassuming serial killers, all the while delving into the relationship dynamics that played a pivotal role in the violence and tragedy the couple wrought.

Mr. and Mrs. Stodola centres on the lives of Dana (Lucie Žáčková) and Jaroslav Stodola (Jan Hájek), beginning with their modest cohabitation in Jaroslav's family home, shared with his mother. The film opens just before their first criminal act, deliberately bypassing Dana's tumultuous early life: a teenage marriage at 15, early motherhood, and a stint in Canada as a bar dancer with her second husband before her fateful return and encounter with the introverted Jaroslav. Amidst the economic strife of their small town, predominantly populated by pension-reliant seniors, the Stodolas' financial desperation grows. Unable to secure stable employment, Dana, the more cunning of the two, persuades a reluctant Jaroslav to rob their elderly neighbour. When the burglary spirals out of control, a distressed Jaroslav seeks refuge with Dana, who, with chilling precision, concocts a scheme to disguise the crime as an accident. Their success emboldens the pair.

Hátle’s fiction feature debut takes an unconventional approach to the true crime genre. The director shuns the typical dramatisation of violence, choosing instead to focus on the prelude and the consequences of the crimes. The film meticulously unravels the methods by which this murderous pair could circulate unnoticed among their senior victims, gaining their trust through personal acquaintance or by preying on the frailties of the elderly. The aftermath exposes the mundane nature of their malevolence, depicting two working-class individuals evading justice — not thanks to the intricacy of their crimes but rather as a result of systemic failings that too readily attribute suspicious deaths to the vagaries of old age.

In addition to its social commentary, the film delves into the complex psychological makeup of the perpetrators. Jaroslav is portrayed as a guileless and naive individual, whose co-dependency and separation anxiety render him susceptible to Dana’s manipulation. Conversely, Dana is initially motivated by greed but swiftly becomes intoxicated by power over other people's lives, cunningly leveraging Jaroslav's jealousy and his reliance on her to satisfy her own whims. In the film's third act, Hártle shifts the focus on Dana as she goes rogue and aims to entrap the gullible Jaroslav, revealing the depths of her pathological nature. Hátle's frequent collaborator, Prokop Souček, served as the cinematographer for the film, shooting on location in close proximity to where the real-life crimes unfolded. Souček employed natural lighting and adhered to a documentary style of observation, maintaining an intimate closeness to the two lead characters

Mr. and Mrs. Stodola explores the social horror that lurks beneath the surface of the mundane, illustrating how ordinary individuals can transform into significant threats to society's most defenceless. The film exposes the ease with which perpetrators could go unchecked, drawing a harrowing line between the normal and the aberrant, the banal and the monstrous.

Mr. and Mrs. Stodola is a co-production between the Czech Republic (nutprodukce) and Slovakia (nutprodukcia), with Czech Television as a co-producer. Cinemart will handle the theatrical release in the Czech Republic, with the premiere slated for February 22, 2024.