Grieving Father Grapples with Guilt After Tragic Accident

Four weeks ago, the Slovak film "Father" premiered as the country's Oscar entry, chronicling the aftermath of a tragic accident that upends a well-to-do family's life. Inspired by real events, the film follows Michal, a magazine editor, who on a seemingly ordinary day, forgets to drop off his young daughter Dominika at daycare, leaving her trapped in the scorching car for hours.

The film's virtuoso cinematography and the lead actor Milan Ondrík's gut-wrenching performance as the grief-stricken father are the driving forces behind this powerful study of consuming guilt and evolving grief. As Michal struggles to come to terms with his devastating mistake, his wife Zuzka displays an unexpected compassion, holding his hand and understanding that he would never intentionally endanger their child.

Nvotová's film operates in an unsentimental starkness, refusing to veer into melodrama as it grapples with the complicated nature of forgiveness - not only that which others grant us, but the one we harshly deny ourselves. The film's final act, where Michal faces the public and legal consequences of his lapse in judgment, is a stirring feat of direction, yielding a profoundly moving exploration of the human condition.