Miloš Zeman: One Politician's Obituary and Celebration of Vysočina

Young filmmaker Robert Sedláček sits down with retired prime minister Miloš Zeman for a quiet, conversational documentary that feels like a personal reckoning. Rather than a chronological life story, the film follows Zeman as he reflects on key moments, political decisions, and private attachments, especially his deep connection to the Vysočina region which he calls an "anchor in his soul". Sedláček lets Zeman speak without heavy narration, so viewers get an unvarnished sense of how the ex-prime minister remembers the recent past and how those memories shape his identity. The film rewards patience, showing a public figure thinking aloud about power, place, and the ways personal history and national history overlap.

Released in 2007, the documentary was directed by Robert Sedláček, who had previously made the Tenkrát trilogy and the feature Pravidla lži. It was produced as a television documentary and reflects Sedláček's interest in recent Czech history.

As a TV movie, there was no reported theatrical box office; it was intended for broadcast and public discussion rather than commercial cinema revenue.

The film made an impression in Czech cultural conversation by emphasizing Zeman's bond with Vysočina, turning the region into a recurring motif for identity and rootedness. That image, and Zeman's candid tone, have been cited in discussions about how politicians present private loyalties as part of a public persona, and the film is sometimes referenced in debates about regional politics and memory.

Critics and viewers have noted that the documentary focuses more on reflection than on investigation, raising themes of memory, legacy, and the personal costs of political life. It prompts questions about how individual leaders represent broader social currents, and it asks viewers to consider how one man's recollections can illuminate a nation's recent history.