Sugar House (1981): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1981, Sugar House is a drama and war film directed by Karel Kachyňa, running about 85 minutes.

What it’s about. In the final days of the Second World War in 1945 Frantisek Pribyl is killed during a shoot-out with the Germans. After the funeral, the widow (Jana Svandová) and her two young sons Martin and Ondra move to her deceased husband's native village at the foot of the Kralický Snezník mountains. Life in the borderlands is far from easy for the lonely woman. The village is almost deserted, food supplies are delayed; the Werwolf (Nazi guerrilla squads) are hiding in the mountains, and shooting is heard from time to time. The elder son Ondra (Michal Dlouhý) is helping out his mother and at the same time absorbing intense new experiences. He meets an old Czech resident Skurek (Lubomír Kostelka), German women working in the forest, soldiers from the engineering units removing the mines, and a young first lieutenant. At night he dreams about his dead father whom he loved very much. This is why he runs away from home when he finds out that the lieutenant is courting his mother.

Who’s in it. Sugar House stars Jana Švandová as maminka Přibylová, Michal Dlouhý as Ondra - syn Přibylové, Marek Mikuláš as Martin - Ondrův mladší bratr and Lubomír Kostelka as správce Škurek, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 6.0/10, Sugar House has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Sugar House page.

If you liked it. Fans of Sugar House tend to enjoy The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, Schindler's List and The Godfather Part II.