Dostoevsky’s latter-day opus about the siblings and their father is among the masterpieces of world literature. It asks profound questions about ethics and religion. Is there a God? Does the devil exist? Is everything allowed because we live in a world without morality? And if so, does patricide even constitute a crime? One of the most interesting adaptations of the material is The Karamazovs by Czech director Petr Zelenka. We witness a group of thesps from Prague on a trip to Krakow in Poland to stage the novel as a play in a derelict steelworks as part of the Closer to Life Festival. The project, however, is born under the bad sign, apparently doomed from the start. When they arrive, the roof is about to cave in, so that the actors are told to wear safety helmets. Their sole consistent audience is a laborer (Andrzej Mastalerz) who rather follows each dress rehearsal than watching over his seven-year-old son who has suffered a tragic accident in the factory.
Unfortunately the movie The Karamazov Brothers is not yet available on HBO Max.
| Writing | Fyodor Dostoevsky | Novel |
| Directing | Petr Zelenka | Director |
| Production | Barbora Kinkalová | Production Manager |
| Directing | Lukáš Hlavica | Stage Director |
| Costume & Make-Up | Martin Chocholoušek | Costume Design |
| Camera | Alexander Šurkala | Director of Photography |
| Production | Čestmír Kopecký | Producer |
| Production | Jan Kaczmarski | Production Manager |
| Directing | Michal Janošek | Assistant Director |
| Production | Roman Wikeł | Co-Producer |
| Sound | Jan A. P. Kaczmarek | Original Music Composer |
| Directing | Lukáš Viznar | First Assistant Director |
| Production | Barbora Kinkalová | Executive Producer |
| Art | Barbara Ostapowitz | Production Design |
| Production | Jan Kaczmarski | Executive Producer |
| Production | Jaroslav Kučera | Co-Producer |
| Writing | Petr Zelenka | Screenplay |
| Sound | Michal Holubec | Sound |
| Writing | Evald Schorm | Theatre Play |
| Production | Jiří Koštýř | Production Manager |
| Editing | Vladimír Barák | Editor |
| Crew | Luděk Jelen | Stunts |
| Production | Karolina Ochab | Co-Producer |
| Production | Katarzina Adamik | Co-Producer |
