Czech director Bohdan Karásek will unveil his second feature, Everything As It Should Be (Mistryně), at this year’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival before the intimate drama opens nationwide on July 23. The film, marks the director’s return to feature filmmaking seven years after his acclaimed debut, Karel, Me and You, will have its world premiere as part of the festival’s Special Screenings section.
Starring Marie Švestková, Jiří Havelka, Lukáš Bouzek, and Taťjana Medvecká, Everything As It Should Be follows a pregnant doctor whose chance reunion with her former husband forces her to reconsider long-settled questions about love, happiness, and the choices that shape a life. Set and filmed in northern Bohemia, the production uses the cities of Liberec and Jablonec nad Nisou as more than a backdrop, weaving their everyday atmosphere into the story.
A chance meeting rekindles unresolved questions
In Everything As It Should Be, Monika appears to have achieved the life she always wanted. She is an accomplished physician, is expecting her first child, and shares a stable relationship with her partner Lukáš. Yet an unexpected encounter with her former husband Petr reopens emotions and questions she believed had long been resolved.
What begins as a brief meeting turns into a long walk through Liberec, where conversations about the past gradually reveal lingering uncertainty beneath Monika’s seemingly settled life. Through quiet dialogue and understated humor, the film explores how memories, regret, and affection can resurface even when the future appears firmly planned.
Karásek said he was drawn to moments when reality disrupts people’s expectations about how they should feel.
“I’m interested in situations where life disrupts our ideas of how people are supposed to feel. Monika has the future she long wanted, yet the past catches up with her—not because she wants to change anything, but because some relationships remain with us,” the director said in a press statement.
Marie Švestková, whose recent screen work includes Franz and Year of the Widow, described Monika as a woman confronting the emotional complexity of impending motherhood rather than the idealized version of happiness.
“Monika would probably like to be conventionally happy,” Švestková said. “But she’s already realized that motherhood brings a great loss of control, expectations, responsibility, and different forms of fear from the very beginning. Instead of forcing herself to smile, she pays attention to what is really happening inside her.”
Jiří Havelka, who plays Petr, said the character avoids simple interpretation because every interaction between the former couple contains multiple emotional possibilities. “In every situation there are several possibilities, several scenarios playing out,” he said.
Following an award-winning debut
Everything As It Should Be is Karásek’s second feature following Karel, Me and You, which emerged as one of the notable Czech independent films of 2019. His debut received the Czech Film Critics’ Award for Discovery of the Year and earned two nominations for the Czech Lion Awards.
The new film continues the filmmaker’s restrained style, emphasizing naturalistic performances, dialogue, and careful observation of interpersonal relationships rather than dramatic plot twists. While the story unfolds over the course of a single afternoon, it examines broader questions about whether major life decisions ever truly become settled.
Northern Bohemia also plays a significant role in the production. Both the story and filming were based in Liberec and nearby Jablonec nad Nisou, with the cities’ streets, parks, public transportation, and changing summer weather becoming integral elements of the narrative. Rather than presenting postcard views, the locations reinforce the film’s focus on ordinary moments that gradually acquire emotional weight.
The production was made by Beginner’s Mind in co-production with Czech Television and Magic Lab, with support from the Czech Audiovisual Fund, the Liberec Region, and the Czech Film Foundation. Principal photography took place in Liberec and Jablonec nad Nisou with assistance from local institutions, including the regional transport operator and Liberec Regional Hospital.
