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Rivers of Babylon (1998)
Directed by Vladimír Balco
Comedy, Drama · 1h 42m
Dark satire about bare-knuckled capitalism in the immediate post-Cold War era. Set just as the Communist government is collapsing, the film focuses on the brutish Racz, the handyman in a Bratislava hotel. Knowing that his job is insured for life, Racz turns off the building's heat and demands food, money, and sex to have it restored. The film is narrated by a pimp named Urban who explains that people in the former Czechoslovakia were so used to being abused that they simply put up with Racz's corruption. By the end of the film, Racz's fortunes have changed considerably. Instead of being a lowly worker, he is now a ruthless and wealthy businessman, unafraid to kill or kidnap those who get in his way.
Cast
Andrej Hryc
Diana Mórová
Ady Hajdu
Barbora Kodetová
Miroslav Noga
Peter Bzdúch
Stano Dančiak
Ivo Gogál
Oldřich Navrátil
Ľubo Gregor
Peter Šimun
Crew
- Director
- Vladimír Balco
- Screenplay
- Peter Pišťanek, Marian Urban, Vladimír Balco
- Novel
- Peter Pišťanek
- Director of Photography
- Martin Štrba
- Original Music Composer
- Jaroslav Filip
- Editor
- Dušan Milko
- Producer
- Marian Urban
Details
- Release date
- 1998-04-23
- Runtime
- 1h 42m
- Genres
- Comedy, Drama
- Original language
- SK
- Spoken languages
- Slovak
- Countries
- Czech Republic, France, Slovakia
- Production
- ALEF Film & Media Group, Ateliéry Bonton Zlín, Česká televize, Markíza Slovakia, Salvo Film