Jan Berger, a veterinarian in his 60s, feels that his wife Olga controls his life too much and does not give him any freedom. When Olga's father dies, she decides to bury him with a church procession, despite the explicit wishes of the deceased that he wants to be cremated. Since Olga is horrified at the prospect of a divorce, Jan thus decides to pretend he suffers from Alzheimer's disease: he fakes forgetting stuff and cuts thuyas by a half. When Jan is placed in a elderly home, he thus finally has free time to escape and go biking in the countryside. The only two people who know the truth, and join his relaxation in nature, are his son Erik and son-in-law Pepik. Jan's daughter Olinka tracks them down via GPS on their mobile phones, and thus exposes the trio. Jan leaves Olga and establishes a veterinary office on a boat and tours the river.
"Theory of Tiger" is a strange and peculiar allegory on the 21st century people who have, for some reason, become "fed up" with marriage and only want to escape to live a free life in the countryside. The weird concept of the protagonist Jan who fakes having Alzheimer's disease in order to have more free time away from his wife is one of the more bizarre ones, even for Czech cinema and their specific sense of humor, yet it does not make sense: Jan did not really think it through, since he ends up locked inside a home for the elderly, and thus has to escape, which causes a police search for him. There are some comical moments: for instance, Jan gets the idea when a customer brings his pet for inspection, a parrot who ostensibly suffers from Alzheimer's disease. In another sequence, Pepik tries to bargain with Jan about what to do with the cremated ashes of Jan's father-in-law, and tries to find a compromise: half of ashes are to be buried in his empty grave, while the other half is suppose to be scattered in the river, as the deceased wished for. Pepik also uses Jan's words against him: by claiming that "everyone" should enjoy freedom, even cows, Pepik goes to a farm and releases all the cows ou in the open, much to Jan's confusion. However, a good deal of the story feels forced and overstretched, not quite thought through, making "Theory of Tiger" a good film, but not among the best examples of Czech comedy.
Grade:++
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