I Served the King of England

An old man (Oldřich Kaiser) is released from prison and recalls how a short, sharp-eyed waiter named Jan Dítě (Ivan Barnev) set out to become a millionaire in inter-war Prague. Jiří Menzel, adapting Bohumil Hrabal's novel, follows the young Jan through hotel dining rooms as he listens, watches and keeps his mouth shut. Then Líza (Julia Jentsch) enters his life, and what he has been hoarding for himself has to be shared with her.