Karel Kachyna – Nadeje AKA The Hope (1964)

Ignác Šavlíř, called Lucin, will try to steal another worker’s pocket from the pocket of a large gravel pit. He is caught, beaten up and thrown into the autumn mud. He is picked up by a randomly passing worker Magdalena and takes him to his house high on the land. Two losers start living together. Lucin was once a site master and driver, but immense drinking made him an assistant worker, a permanent debtor, and an occasional thief. Magdalena’s arms often served as a refuge for many workers for one night. But it wasn’t about money, she was more afraid of loneliness and longed for constant feeling and security. She is very clean and has a good influence on Lucin. She would like to go with him elsewhere, a new building should be opened in Hradec. Lucin is trying to slash goodness, but when other workers laugh at him for his relationship with a woman of bad reputation, he gets drunk again. In a violent quarrel, Magdalena strikes and she falls unconscious. Lucin takes her to the hospital. She confesses to the crime and decides to change her life. Healing Magdalena, on the other hand, tells the police that she caused the injuries herself. Lucin comes to say goodbye to the hospital. Meanwhile he goes to Hradec himself, but he will write her soon. Both have hope for a new life.