Jan Hřebejk is nothing if not ambitious. The Prague native spent most of 2017 working on The Garden Store, a trilogy of war movies that were released just months apart from one another. All three screen back-to-back (with intermissions) on May 25 as part of San Diego’s first Czechoslovakian Film Festival. The show kicks off at the Museum of Photographic Arts at 10 am. Mr. Hřebejk will on hand to introduce all three films. (Expect a Q&A following the second movie, so dress sharp.) Nine hours is a big commitment to make, but you’re up for it. For tickets, visit eventbrite.com. 

In the erstwhile days of pre-WWII Czechoslovakia, when post-dinner chatter switched to manly matters, womenfolk silently left the table as if on cue. But Emilka won’t budge until her two scheming brothers-in-law either clue her in or physically escort her to the kitchen. Her botanist husband looks on in silence as she opts for the latter. The sight of her trampling his one-of-a-kind potted cacti causes hubby to drop their infant child and rush to the aid of the displaced succulent. It’s a moment of Monty Python-esque abandon that doesn’t quite prepare one for the serious melodrama at hand. With two of the three brothers placed in POW camps, the story concentrates on the sisters back home, their children, and the titular doctor who may have been more than just a friend to one of them. The dialogue between adults is frank and cogent; using children as harbingers of irony proves much less persuasive. It’s a demanding set-up — we’re expected to brain-juggle a dozen or so loquacious characters — particularly for those not up to speed on the period.