Olda confronts a television world that feeds on human energy while trying to preserve his relationship with Anna.
Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases
Courtship And Collapse
Olda courts Jitka, but her encounter with his colleague leaves him emotionally exhausted. His collapse and hospitalization introduce the film's mystery of stolen energy.
Key Events
Olda Courts Jitka — Olda pursues Jitka while their relationship appears romantically promising. Characters: Olda, JitkaLocation: Prague
Jitka Betrays Olda — Jitka goes to bed with Olda's colleague while Olda watches television. Characters: Olda, JitkaLocation: Slezák's home
Television Interview — Olda watches an absurd television interview in which he appeared earlier that day. Characters: OldaLocation: Olda's home
Olda Loses Consciousness — Olda loses consciousness and remains incapacitated for three days. Characters: OldaLocation: Olda's home
Hospital Awakening — Olda awakens in a hospital room beside the ageing Mikulík. Characters: Olda, MikulíkLocation: Hospital room
The Energy Mystery
Olda receives healing and learns that energy can be taken from the world around him. Mikulík's death while watching television provides the first disturbing proof of the danger.
Key Events
Hospital Awakening — Olda awakens in a hospital room beside the ageing Mikulík. Characters: Olda, MikulíkLocation: Hospital room
Energy Healing — A mysterious healer restores Olda's lost energy and demonstrates energy transfer. Characters: OldaLocation: Hospital room
Learning Energy Sources — Olda learns to draw energy from trees, art, and natural phenomena. Characters: OldaLocation: Prague
Mikulík Dies Watching Television — Mikulík dies while watching television, apparently drained of all energy. Characters: Olda, MikulíkLocation: Hospital room
Anna Is Identified — Olda meets Anna after Mikulík's death and learns that she is his daughter. Characters: Olda, Anna, MikulíkLocation: Hospital
The Television Mirror
Olda discovers a television universe whose doubles feed on the energy of real people. His growing relationship with Anna is repeatedly threatened by television's power.
Key Events
Television Doppelgangers — Olda discovers a television world populated by doubles feeding on energy from their originals. Characters: OldaLocation: Television universe
Olda Takes Anna Out — Olda finds Anna's number and takes her on a date at a café. Characters: Olda, AnnaLocation: Café
Love Confession — Olda and Anna confess their feelings and go to the bedroom together. Characters: Olda, AnnaLocation: Anna's house
Television Drains Olda — Olda accidentally turns on the television and loses energy again. Characters: Olda, AnnaLocation: Anna's house
Love And Resistance
Olda proposes to Anna and develops practical defenses against television. After gathering energy from art, he conceives a plan based on a fairy tale.
Key Events
Olda Proposes Marriage — Olda proposes to Anna, who reveals that she has a daughter. Characters: Olda, AnnaLocation: Prague
Remote Controls Purchased — Olda buys remote controls as protection against television sets. Characters: OldaLocation: Prague
Opera Energy Harvest — At the opera, Olda absorbs energy from the art and stores it in boards. Characters: Olda, AnnaLocation: Opera house
A Fairy Tale Plan — Olda reads a fairy tale and plans to destroy the television world with concentrated energy. Characters: Olda, AnnaLocation: Anna's house
The Energy Reckoning
Olda overloads the television system but abandons destruction when he realizes the energy would kill him. The released force saves a plane, and Olda reunites with his television double before contacting Anna.
Key Events
Media Doubles Lose Energy — Television personalities are symbolically buried and become powerless after their energy supply ends. Characters: OldaLocation: Television universe
Energy Boards Detonate — Olda detonates the charged boards and sends their energy across the bridge toward the television. Characters: OldaLocation: Olda's apartment
Energy Saves A Plane — Olda releases the destructive energy, which instead saves a falling plane. Characters: OldaLocation: Bridge
Television Selves Merge — Olda's television double appears, and the two figures embrace and merge. Characters: OldaLocation: Bridge
Olda Calls Anna — Olda apologizes to Anna by telephone, suggesting their relationship will continue. Characters: Olda, AnnaLocation: Prague
Story Breakdown
Broken Courtship — Olda's initial romance collapses and leaves him emotionally and physically vulnerable.
Olda Courts Jitka — Olda begins the story by pursuing Jitka romantically.
Betrayal And Collapse — Jitka goes to bed with Olda's colleague, after which Olda watches television and loses consciousness.
Hospital Awakening — The hospital introduces Olda to energy healing and Mikulík's disturbing fate.
Mysterious Healing — A healer restores Olda's energy and teaches him how energy can be taken from the environment.
Mikulík Dies — Mikulík dies while watching television, apparently drained of energy.
Television Mirror — Olda discovers that television contains doubles who depend on energy from their real counterparts.
Doubles Feed — The television inhabitants live hedonistically while consuming energy from people seen on television.
Hidden Threat — Olda understands that television is not merely entertainment but an active source of danger.
Anna And Olda — Olda's relationship with Anna provides emotional hope but remains vulnerable to television.
First Date — Olda finds Anna in a phone book and takes her to a café.
Love Interrupted — After they confess their feelings, television drains Olda again during their intimate evening.
Gathering Energy — Olda develops a strategy to resist television by collecting energy from art and human surroundings.
Opera Harvest — Olda absorbs energy from the opera and stores it in boards.
Fairy Tale Plan — A fairy tale inspires Olda to overload the television with concentrated life force.
Television Reckoning — Olda carries out his plan but chooses preservation over destruction at the final moment.
Bridge Detonation — The charged boards release energy that travels across the bridge toward the television.
Plane Rescue — Olda redirects the energy, saving a falling plane instead of destroying the television.
Merged Identity — Olda resolves his personal conflict with his television double while the broader television problem remains.
Double Embraced — Olda's television counterpart appears, and the two figures embrace and merge.
Call To Anna — Olda apologizes for missing the date, implying that his relationship with Anna can continue.
In this movie, TV sets are full of life. If a person is in TV (e.g. because it was filmed on the street) it has a double that's right in the TV set. This double needs energy from the true character to survive. Each time, the real human watches TV, his Double will pull life energy from him. So there's a mysterious Death-serial. Many persons die in front of their TV set and nobody knows why. Olda, the main character, is one of the persons, that get more and more weak. He is near death, till Fisarek, the natural healer appears. He teaches Olda how he can resist this magic force and how he can fight it.
