The Hamster's Gambit

Hamster’s Gambit is a dry Czech comedy set in a small village, where three generations are trapped in a house marked for demolition by a new highway. Milan survives family life by staying invisible, caught between his domineering mother Jaruna, who refuses to leave, and a family ready to move on. After Jaruna collapses, Milan invents a lie: an endangered hamster has been found on their land, stopping the construction. What begins as a quick excuse spirals into a chain reaction of activists, village resentment, and a man slowly trapped inside his own fabrication. Beneath the absurdity, the film explores how personal fears can hide behind noble causes, and how easy it is to mistake avoidance for loyalty.