| Tobruk | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Václav Marhoul |
| Produced by | Václav Marhoul |
| Screenplay by | Václav Marhoul |
| Starring | Jan Meduna Petr Vanek |
| Distributed by | High Fliers |
| Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | Czech Republic Slovakia |
| Language | Czech Slovak |
Tobruk is a 2008 film written and directed by Václav Marhoul and starring Jan Meduna and Petr Vanek. It is an adaptation of the classic American Civil War novel The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. It transfers the action to North Africa during the Second World War.
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It is the story of Jiří and Jan, two Czech soldiers, battling alongside the allied forces against the Germans, during World War II in Tobruk, Libya. Jiří Pospichal, eighteen years old, signs up as a volunteer in the Czechoslovak army. His naive ideas about heroism are rawly confronted with the hell of the African desert, complicated relationships in his unit and the ubiquitous threat of death. All this takes its cruel toll in the shape of his gradual loss of self respect and courage.
The film was nominated for eight Crystal Lions at the 2009 Czech Lion Ceremony. It won best cinematography (Vladimir Smutny), best score (Richard Horowitz and Sussan Deyhim) and best sound (Pavel Rejholec and Jakub Cech).