Malarkey

A beautiful scenery, small-town mentality and complicated family relationships. During the whole hour and a half you are watching a family drama, which at times changes into an interesting crime story, just so the last half an hour completely decomposes you. The film consciously does not tell you everything, it keeps something for later so at times I had troubles with the main character, who did not say more than was completely necessary. On the other hand, Matthew MacFadyen delivered such a performance that his scared face will haunt my dreams for a long time. I have to say I had a similar look on my face while watching the film. Certainly the best New Zealand movie I’ve seen so far.

The moment when a group of American teenagers with a recorder ran into a cemetery was for me an impulse that the living dead have to have their way with them. They were pissing me off, and a lot. And it was not even saved by the tits of some punk girl, who was doing a demon dance on a grave. Simultaneously two stupid scientists release some poisonous shit into the air and that causes the real mess. Their asses are saved by some black version of Rambo and the whole thing is just so funny that it is stupid.

If the Dark City was not consciously pointing out the proper noir atmosphere right from the beginning, I would almost say that the main character could have found the way to the beach on the Internet. While for us, travelling anywhere is nowadays a simple process, when with two clicks we can see not just the journey from the map’s position, but also the journey from the car driver’s position, in this film it formed the basis of the story. The film changed from noir crime film into a complete sci-fi in a split second. I thought that it is nice that in the nineties the American directors had balls to shoot similar movies. Nowadays, nobody would pay for it unless it had the stamp of Marvel or a remake.

It is very interesting to see how important the concept of a family is for the Muslims. This concept goes beyond the line and thus creates stories that are very horrible and sad, as this film was trying to tell. The whole time I wished for a better life for Umay. And the whole time I felt it was getting worse and worse. The finale knocked me down completely. I cannot describe it, you have to live through the two hours. It is apparent that a Muslim family is so irrational and complicated process, that I was glad I am not a part of it.

I feel sorry that I missed this movie when it was screening in cinemas. In Mladá Boleslav it was in cinemas maybe even less than one week and then they changed it either for some cartoon cash cow or another one of the endless line of American superhero movies… But a good Czech movie is hard to find in cinemas. And Lost in Munich is exactly that. Petr Zelenka took advantage of the audience and really toys with them from the start to the finish. What you watch as a film for an hour changed into a film about a film in the next hour. Plus you are following the connections and it all starts to make sense only toward the ending. And it is really funny and entertaining. And the cast is amazing as well – Martin Myšička, Tomáš Bambušek or Jana Plodková. And the fundamental premise of Munich and the brave proposition that the Munich Agreement actually helped us is all that is needed to make even a viewer with the knowledge of history excited. The absolute uniqueness of it all is not worth five stars but still it is one of the most interesting Czech films.

I have high respect for films that are in a deeply human form able to tell an exceptional story which is created not just by destiny, but also the current world affairs. And The Visitor is exactly that kind of film. Sad, true, real. Just like life itself. In the end we all realize that the small joyful things and love are the only things that can actually make you happy. But also sad.

Maybe I should not say this, but I felt this film was just so ordinary. I accept that Vera Brittain lived through so much that she needed to put it on paper. However, what’s the use of it, when the film appears so drab. Yes, the actors were good, but what started as a sentimental romance ends like a dull war drama. There were some interesting scenes on the battlefield, but it certainly does not save the film as a whole.

As the German-Czech friendship is still a delicate subject discussed over a pint of beer in almost every pub I set my foot in, I did not assume it would be different with Bob. When Schmitke, portrayed by an amazing Peter Kurth, with his talkative colleague visited a small village on the Czech-German border, somewhere in the middle of Ore Mountains, I anticipated where this was going. What’s more, I got to see a perfectly filmed relationship between a Czech and a German. It was helped by the amazing directing debut of Štěpán Altrichter. The sound was excellent with Johannes Repka’s music, which really deserved the Czech Lion Award it got. And most of all it was the atmosphere with the story, which made Schmitke such an original movie it undoubtedly is. I have not watched a film with a better atmosphere in a long time and I don’t think it was just because Czech setting is so close for me. And in a similarly long time I have not seen a better dominatrix than Helena Dvořáková. Drinking hard liquor, doing accounting and gracefully knocking down anyone who just looks at her? Not any woman can do that… Hats off. I also have to compliment every actor and non-actor appearing in the movie. They all have their place, and each character is important and unique. Schmitke really impressed me and I will watch this trip to the Ore Mountains soon again. All it’s missing for the five star rating is a better finale; the film however tried to save it with the dialogue during the end credits.

That the English humor almost never disappoints is a fact that is sometimes sadly doesn’t ring true. At first glance, SuperBob seems extremely funny and ironic, when it comes to superheroes. Actually, at first glance it looks similar to the almost genius New Zealand vampire parody – What We Do in the Shadows. However, after a while you realize that not only you are not laughing, but the whole love story surrounding it seems to you incredibly embarrassing. It’s a pity.

I cannot find a better description for this movie than gothic horror, as the reviewer sud wrote. Edgar Allan Poe, the sixties, pasteboard sets, fear, filth, torturing devices and atmosphere which even the medieval fighter Ivanhoe would approve of. Even though it was not that scary, the charm of it is unforgettable.