The Jackal Years

The Jackal Years is set in Prague's Dejvice in the late 1950s, living peacefully in its "small town" way in the shadow of the red star at the top of the International Hotel. One day, a young man named Bejby bursts into the world of parents living with the everyday worries of early socialism and their children, whose sense of the "outside world" is determined by the exotic contents of the hotel's trash cans. The innocent dustman causes a stir with his eccentric clothes and passion for "unknown" rock and roll rhythms; the youth are thrilled and the parents despair. Bejby's appearance, amplified in the story by the rock and roll hits of Ivan Hlas, which have now become popular (such as Jednu mi fotr požiadě, Na kolena or Rock'n'roll pro Beethovena), thus marks a key turning point in the lives of a generation of boys.