Dir: Ondřej Provazník | Czech Republic, Slovak Republic 2025, 104 min, World Premiere
A clash of innocence and guile is at the heart in this gripping psychological drama from first time solo writer director Ondřej Provazník returns to Karlovy Vary six years after his award-winning medium length film Old-Timers (2019) with this impressive new feature.
Based on real events that took place in the early 1990s, Broken Voices, a particularly poignant title given the events that subsequently unfold, brings to mind others involving competitive and erotic challenges with figures of authority such as Slalom and Michael Haneke’s cult classic The Piano Teacher.
In Prague talented singer Karolina, 13, is training her voice, and gets the chance to become a member of a world-famous girls’ choir and travel to America, alongside others in the ensemble including her older sister Lucy, 15, causing sibling rivalry.
Out of 30 girls only 20 will be selected. But despite the pressure to perform and give her utmost, singing is not the only thing on the young girl’s mind. The choir is led by a strict but charismatic music master Vitek who becomes captivated by Karolina’s burgeoning talent and soon appears to take a shining to her, one of the other girls speculating as to how many times Vitek catches the young girl’s eye.
Lucy’s jealousy at being usurped by her young sister is uncontrollable: During a communal shower after a rehearsal Karolina’s clothes disappear and she is forced to dash back to her room naked, but her sister’s envy doesn’t end there. Lucy locks her out in the cold to teach her a lesson, and the two girls are sent home in disgrace. Vitek realises that he has to take them both to America but are they up to the challenge.
Working with novices actors Provazník plays his cards close to his chest with a sensitive script that avoids sensationalism in exerting a potent erotic charge when exploring the powerful urges engendered by competitive stress in a high octane environment. The two leads, music master Juraj Loj and Katerina Falbrova as Karolina, exude a palpable onscreen chemistry where their feelings are shown rather that verbally expressed in nuanced performances. @MeredithTaylor
BROKEN VOICES PREMIERES AT KARLOVY VARY FILM FESTIVAL JULY 2025