Volga(2023)

Volga is a five-part Czech miniseries following Standa Pekárek, a scheming driver with three modest ambitions: to own a Volga car, to work for the state television's comedy department, and to drive a particular colleague named Gotʼák. Adapted from Karel Hynia's darkly comic novel, the series unfolds as both a peculiar chronicle of Czechoslovak television's behind-the-scenes chaos and a portrait of Pekárek himself—a petty, self-serving man who excels at small deceptions. He steals petrol, falsifies mileage, cheats his wife, and sabotages rivals without hesitation. His moral descent culminates when he becomes an informant for the secret police under the codename Volha, betraying colleagues and passengers alike. Written in Hynia's distinctive, surreal prose style, Volga captures the absurdity and corruption of its era through one man's relentless self-interest.