Bystré
St. John Baptist's Church
Stop for a while before you enter the church door, close your eyes and go back in time. The bell is chiming, its sound echoing in the village. People in their Sunday best walk out the church and the gentlemen are putting on their hats. The mass has just finished. A typical Sunday morning in All My Compatriots.
Churches have always been the heart of every village and the one in Bystré is no different. Director Vojtěch Jasný chose the location mainly because of the church itself, the town hall and the road leading in between them. Most of the scenes shot in the village Bystré take place close to the monumental church construction.
It's rather symbolic. The communist party managed to weaken the importance of churches by moving their significance to town halls. Even the villagers with peasant František in their front came out of the church and walked to the building of today's town hall, to pray for the release of their priest. Nowadays, you can still follow in their exact footsteps.
