In addition, running with an almost professional drill helped him get closer to the personality of Emil Zátopek. “When I drove home from Strahov or Ladronka to Vinohrady, I was usually very excited for an hour, and in the car it was the time when I usually took notes when I started being with Emil the most,” he admits.
At the same time, he became acquainted with the legendary runner by reading information about his life and watching archival records. He also played recordings in his car to get Zátopek’s Moravian accent.
You must not overtake Neužila
While filming, the running actor met professional athletes on the track. Jan Pernica chose active runners who trained the style of their former colleagues to make the reconstruction of famous races as authentic as possible. They had to run fully in front of the camera, but they were not allowed to overtake Václav Neužil at the finish.
“Sometimes, when Václav was still relaxed or when the finish was supposed to look sharp in everyone, there was no need to tire them, but sometimes we scattered them around the stadium according to different performance. Some started four hundred meters earlier, some three hundred, some two hundred. And we put Václav where we needed it. That’s how we put it together, “explains Pernica.
Iss: You can’t pretend to be a spearman
Martha Issova did not miss the training either. The screenplay, written by Ondříček together with Jan P. Muchow and Alice Nellis, tells not only the story of the incredible devotion to sport, but also the love of the Zátopeks. Emil became acquainted with the talented javelin thrower Dana thanks to athletics.
“I love acting that it allows you to take an intense trip to a place you would never normally get in your life,” says Martha Iss. “I underwent regular athletic training, an intense year and a half, and it helped me not only on my body but also on my soul,” he adds.
–
According to her, it was not important how far the spear would go, but that her technique looked believable in front of the camera. “I took it very seriously, but in a discipline like javelin throw, it’s not possible, because it’s an extremely difficult athletic discipline and for a person who has never done it before, it’s not possible to have a month of warming up and going and looking that he is a spearman, “he points out.
She was helped with the preparation by the javelin coach Rudolf Černý and the Olympic winner Barbora Špotáková, according to whom Issová is a natural talent. The actress also met Dana Zátopková in person several times. The advice of the Olympic winner was said: Especially so that you don’t look like a broken lily.
“I met Dan when she was ninety-four or five, and it’s a different phase of life than the one we were trying to capture. But he will definitely tell you something about that man, and besides, Dana was a really charming personality and she was very funny with her. For me, the meeting was important and crucial humanly, but for the role I drew a lot from period records, it was essential for me to read about her childhood. And also, of course, from people around her who told stories other than those that Dana herself tells about herself, “Martha Issová specified.
Zátopek as an inspiration for running
Coach Jan Pernica hopes that the biographical drama about Emil Zátopek will bring not only spectators to cinemas, but also a new generation of athletics oval runners.
“One of the things I went to to shoot was that you think you want to leave a message in your running. Give him back what he gave me. That’s what I promise from the film. I hope not very naively, “he admits.
– .
