The Owners

A timely metaphor for failing democracy, The Owners takes a seriocomic look at the most local form of self-governance: the co-op apartment building meeting. It includes a curious cast of characters, all of whom own apartments in the same building in Prague, as they attempt to tolerate each other’s presence long enough to make some important decisions about the building’s future.

Mrs. Zahrádková wants to save the old crumbling house she shares with other owners of the flats located in it. She might find supporters for her plan in young newlyweds with their idealistic enthusiasm, who have just moved in and are astonished by the co-owners’ inability to agree on anything.

Mrs. Roubíčková vigilantly controls the proper course of the meeting, not allowing the slightest deviation from the rules; Mrs. Procházková and her proclaimed business partner Mr. Novak are looking for ways to increase the value of their property, including by subletting an apartment to African students; Mr. Nitranský tries to get hold of the attic to expand his flat; and frustrated Mr. Kubát sabotages any decision.

“Beneath the dry wit and jaded, world-weary cynicism, and even before we reach the obligatory bittersweet, tragicomic ending, there is some profound allegory at work in Vlastníci, familiar from the brave and subversive Czech comedies of the 1960s…” -Czech Film Review