GO
WEST, YOU IDIOT: Synopsis
In
the last years of the Soviet Union, a government official named
Frank escaped from Czechoslovakia into Germany, accompanied
by his wife Katarina, their eight-month old baby Mark, and Katarina's
brother Michael. Thus began their odyssey through Europe, a
journey that would end in Australia. After an attempted kidnapping
by Czech operatives, Frank and Katarina realized they must go
far from their homeland to find sanctuary, all the way down
under.
But Australia didn't prove to be the shangri-la Frank had imagined;
after three years the U.S.S.R. fell, and he and Katarina returned
home. Home to a Prague rife with unemployment, crime and homeless
people. Frank makes the life-changing decision to enter the
black market. The following couple of years feature a series
of nightmares, including an attack by Russian mobsters that
leaves Frank unconscious in the middle of a forest, lying beneath
the mangled body of his best friend.
A good score finally takes Frank and Katarina back to Austria,
where they buy a small hotel and convert it to a refugee center.
Just as he achieves this dream, the Austrian government ejects
immigrants, and confiscates his hotel. Katarina's brother Michael
remained in Australia when they returned home, and he is now
waiting for them when they make yet another attempt at a new
life.
This time they are successful. Their story ends when their son
Mark is fifteen, playing in a youth concert at the Sydney Opera
House. Frank has used his governmental skills to aid the Australian
government, and Katarina has embarked on a new career in Marketing.
Though it has taken them a long time and often seemed out of
reach, they have achieved their dream of freedom. |
