Drunk, wasted, and fun is how Jindřiška and her best friend Karolina see themselves after a night of partying. What follows is a 180-degree turnaround, as the next 24 hours will see our protagonist facing situations she would never have imagined – let alone being forced to act on them quickly. In short, this is the worst hangover imaginable. 

Just a few hours after coming home from a party, Jindřiška is awakened by a lot of movement in their house – appliances and furniture being taken, paintings being assessed, even her laptop and stuff she bought with her own money are confiscated. Apparently, her father has a lot of accumulated debts, and he’s not picking up the phone. She even goes to his office and is surprised to find out that he hasn’t worked from that location for months now. He’s literally nowhere to be found. 

Vojtĕch Strakatý’s debut feature After Party, which premiered at the Orizzonti Extra section of the 81st Venice International Film Festival, is a different kind of coming-of-age story. Its suspense comes from the challenge of maturing early and facing problems the protagonist never brought onto herself, but is forced to deal with nonetheless. The film also examines the generation gap between parents and their children. Jindřiška’s father has a different way of approaching things, and you can see how he’s being very pushy every time his daughter suggests otherwise. You also start to wonder if her father actually cares for Jindřiška or if he is choosing to put her in situations like this on purpose. You suddenly feel for the main character, as it seems like she’s between a rock and a hard place, and there’s no easy answer to how she can get out of it. 

Strakatý uses a ton of close-ups of Jindřiška’s character – an intentional approach by the director to show the suffocation of the situation she is in and how it escalates and continues to go awry. Eliška Bašusová delivers a captivating performance as a woman who is forced to confront the sudden hellhole she finds herself in. If there is one aspect of the film that feels the most authentic, it is the friendship of Jindřiška and Karolína. The latter helps her bring some stuff from the house, lets her into her own home, and keeps her away from her father’s pressures. It is a perfect encapsulation of friendships developed during the teenage years of one’s life. To say Karolína is a keeper would be an understatement. 

The ending feels a tad abrupt – showing nothing and keeping it rather vague. I feel like the choice to end the narrative in this way will leave viewers hanging, and a non-conclusion might be seen as a cop-out. To put it in the context of the film: it is like attending a party only to be informed there isn’t any alcohol.