People talk about the concept of resistance to political authority in ways that are often very abstract, but it’s fascinating to see real resistance in practice. The movie Waves, which just opened in Israel, does just that, dramatizing a story of the very sophisticated political opposition to the Soviet Union at a Prague radio station from 1967-1968.
The movie, directed by Jirí Mádl, is based on true events and focuses on two brothers whose parents are dead, Tomás (Vojtech Vodochodský), who is in his 20s, and his teenage brother, Paja (Ondrej Stupka). Tomás is preoccupied with just putting food on the table, while Paja is involved in political activism against Russian control over Czechoslovakia.
Tomás discourages this activism, urging his brother to devote himself to his studies. But Paja is energized by what he hears on Czechoslovak Radio, the international news department, of which is helmed by Milan Weiner (Stanislav Majer), a brave and visionary news editor who inspires his staff and pushes the boundaries of what the station is permitted to report.
When Paja goes to a kind of audition-job interview there, Tomás follows to keep an eye on him.
In a very believable scene, Tomás gets a job as a technician because when a phone rings in the room where they are auditioning, he is the only one to pick it up and bring the message to the editors.
Tomás enjoys his work and respects Weiner and the staff, but is uneasy when government officials pressure him to become an informer. They threaten to take away Paja and put him into an orphanage if he doesn’t cooperate.
The bulk of the movie is about how Tomás manages to play it both ways, giving the secret police just a little information so they will issue warnings but will allow the station to continue functioning.
The situation weighs on Tomás, who is quiet and sensitive, and adds to his worries about his brother. In addition to the personal story of this concerned older brother and that of the ambitious, quirky staff of this rebel radio station, the movie details the events of the Prague Spring, leading up to the Soviet crackdown and invasion in 1968.
The film incorporates news footage seamlessly into the story, which is a beautiful illustration of what it looks like when the personal really does become political. And in a lower-tech era, the tricks they use to keep broadcasting are brilliant.
'A love letter to news radio and newspapers'
MUCH OF Waves is about the exhilaration of resisting, and how exciting it can be to give people the knowledge they need, which is being kept from them, to make their own decisions.
It’s a kind of love letter to news radio and newspapers, and it is set to a soundtrack of classic rock music, which the staff loves, as well as popular Czech songs from the same period.
The ensemble cast is excellent, and Vojtech Vodochodský makes you feel the tension of the untenable position he is forced into very effectively. Majer is suitably charming as the news editor and Tatiana Pauhofová is appealing as a tough translator who has a softer side.
As I watched, it was hard not to think of the Iranian protests in January, in which the government killed tens of thousands of protesters. Some people say that the Iranian people should bring down their oppressive regime on their own, with no outside help.
But Waves, which was the Czech Republic’s official Oscar submission in 2025, depicts a reality in which those who opposed the Soviet-influenced regime had a great many tools at their disposal, such as radio stations and opposition newspapers.
Yet they were still crushed by the reality of the tanks rolling in. It’s sobering to think that the characters in Waves had to live under this regime for another 21 years.
While Waves is entertaining on its own, as a historical drama, it may make you long for the day when there will be a Persian Spring in Iran that will bloom far longer than the one in Prague did.