Czech director Tomáš Vorel, who fought piracy by giving away his movies for free (see the news), is finishing up his latest film project, The Way Home. Vorel was behind various Czech films that garnered a cult following and attained the status of classics, such as The Prague Five (1988 – the full film is available on the Czech Film Classics YouTube channel) and Smoke (1990), while later on, he dabbled in more mainstream fare in the guise of The Can (2007, full film here) and Prague Cans (2014, full film here). The Way Home is the last instalment in a trilogy that he started two decades ago with Out of the City (the full film is available on the director’s YouTube channel), followed by 2012’s To the Woods (full film here).

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The loose trilogy follows the lives of people who left the city behind to live in the countryside. The films are a sort of homage to “rural life, village traditions and family homesteading”, cohabitation with nature and the struggle against the expansive civilisation of cities. The final film in the trilogy is set in the same location as its predecessors, with the original cast reprising their roles 21 years after the premiere of the first movie. The protagonist of the first picture, Tomáš (Tomáš Hanák), falls into alcoholism, while his wife, healer Markéta (Barbora Nimcová), is making money off workaholics from Prague who are coming to the countryside to find inner order, peace and balance. Vlasta (Eva Holubová) and her husband, Papoš (Bolek Polívka), work their fields. The protagonists of the film are the children of both couples, who are struggling with financial problems.

The director penned the script based on the stories of locals in the Plzeň Region, where the story takes place and where the film was shot. Besides writing, directing and playing the occasional role, Vorel served as the movie’s cinematographer. Principal photography unfolded throughout 2019, with shooting blocks in spring, summer, autumn and winter, as the film was being shot chronologically. It is presently in the last leg of post-production, with the finishing touches being put to its colouring, sound and music. Bontonfilm confirmed to Cineuropa that there are no plans for a release outside the territory of the Czech Republic for the moment.

The Way Home is being produced by Bontonfilm Studios (Ondřej Kulhánek), and co-produced by the director’s own outfit, Vorel Studio, Czech Television and innogy. The Plzeň Region supported the film. Bontonfilm is handling the domestic theatrical release, with the premiere planned for 19 August.