The King of Šumava: The Phantom of the Dark Land (Král Šumavy: Fantom temného kraje)

“You are not born a legend, you become a legend” – this is the motto of the three-part miniseries from Voyo, which David Ondříček directed based on David Jan Žák’s bestselling novel The Return of the King of Šumava (2012). From the position of an admirer of Kachyňa’s film version of the story of the people smuggler Josef Hasil, which despite its directorial and visual qualities is ideologically beholden to the communist doctrine of the dark 1950s, Žák’s narrative about Hasil was seen as an opportunity to set the record straight in a thrilling way. “It’s a story from the dark woods and swamps. A boy’s adventure that turns into a fierce struggle for life, liberty and justice,” Ondříček said. The three episodes of the first series, dealing with the early part of Hasil’s service on the state border in the deep forests of Šumava (first crossings, loves, triumphs and disappointments), are an exposition to the birth of a legend that has the promise of a sequel in the Voyo production.

Jana Bébarová