I am writing this especially as the movie has mostly positive reviews in here and I'd like to put some counterpart to them. To make things clear, I hated the movie. Well, "hate" might be too a strong word. It is so ridiculous you can't really hate it. If I overlook the fact that it is based on Czech mythology, it is a really bad movie. The idea is OK - people should take care of nature and try to live in harmony with it. The whole thing with women being one with natural order and men being mean, arrogant machos is rather far- fetched...but OK, the director has his ideas and I'm not taking them from him. But so many other thing drag it down. Props are...mostly not there. The story barely makes sense. Actors are mostly Czech and their English sounds verrry bad. (By the way, the two actors from Libuse's entourage are known for having lived in English-speaking countries before the Velvet Revolution, so one would expect them to sound at least a little native. Well, one would be wrong.) The dialogues are ridiculous and acting beyond anything describable in human language. And I could go on. The problem is, I cannot overlook the fact that this piece of...art...is based upon Czech mythology. I don't know what people imagine when they read "based upon". Yes, the movie has some common points with the Czech stories. Like names of the characters. And some parts of plot-lines. I just don't understand why the creators did't take parts of the Czech myths they liked and didn't use them without ever mentioning the source. Well, I do. No one would care that way. This gives the movie mythological flavour and somewhat justifies how awfully bad it is. Why is Vlasta lesbian? Or transgender or whatever. Libuse never tricks her men like she does in the movie, when she purposefully sends them to Premysl (she's a seer so she doesn't need to...), it actually turns her into some sex-driven, crazy puppet-master. Libuse should be dead when the war between men and women starts (the point of this story is completely different). And nor she nor any of her sisters is supposed to be a FAIRY. I mean what the hell? I don't want to seem like I am writing this out of spite. But I really believe this movie is an insult of storytelling, the art of cinema and anyone acquainted with the original mythology...actually, maybe of the whole Czech nation.
Review of The Pagan Queen
