Four Velvet Men Then and Now - Jan Ruml
Evoluce 4 z revoluce - Jan Ruml
Jan Šikl, Pavel Koutecký / Czech Republic / 2010 / 57 min.
Twenty years ago, filmmaker Pavel Koutecký began following the stories of four people who actively took part in Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution: musician Michael Kocáb, dissident Jan Ruml and students Kryštof Rímský and Martin Mejstřík. After Koutecký's death, the project was taken on by Jan Šikl. These four films, made over an extremely long period, recapitulate the protagonists' ups and downs, and allow the viewer to reflect with them on the developments Czech society has gone through during the last two decades. The part dedicated to Jan Ruml introduces viewers to a well-known politician, who has influenced society as interior minister, party boss and senator. Despite the challenges he has faced, Ruml has lost neither an ability for reflection nor a sense of responsibility for the public sphere.