When the War Comes

Peter Švrček from Slovakia seems to have a nice life, but he is concerned about the future of his country and the arrival of immigrants. If there’s going to be a war, Peter wants to be prepared for it, so in his free time he leads a paramilitary group of dozens of men. In their weekend training sessions, they wear fake uniforms and use dummy weapons, but they take their mission very seriously indeed.

For three years Czech director Jan Gebert followed the members of the Slovakian extremist, paramilitary group Svrcek. The group consists of young people, mostly teenagers, who worry about the future of their country. Under the guidance founder Peter, they train in the weekends with fake weapons and preach their fascist world views in schools. Their goal is to reform Slovakia into a totalitarian regime, without immigrants. And as long as Peter and his helpers don’t break any laws, the government won’t intervene.