Even here in the Czech Republic - movie´s country of origin - this is almost forgotten piece. The story (inspired by the true story) about catholic priest who must find his way through life in uneasy time of communist regime hostile to Catholic church and deal with the reality of his helplessness when a woman he platonicly loves is fighting her already lost battle with deadly disease is really touching and sad atmosphere of a small Czech city in the 80´s is nicely depicted. Main character is superbly played by Bolek Polivka who is known mainly for his comedy roles but who is able to handle dramatic roles as well. For me, this is true hidden gem of the Czech cinematography!
Reviews
3 Reviews
City of God
(2002)
Perfect movie about terrible things
3 January 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Cidade de Deus is the movie with perfect camera, scriptwriting, editing and acting (a lot of actors were non-professionals but they are really great) but for whole time of watching I wished one and only thing: to see the end titles. This movie forced me to thank the destiny that I was born in calm and prosperous Europe. The other world - that which Cidade de Deus is all about - is like from another galaxy. But unfortunately, it's not.
Grand story of the movie is wisely pieced together from several mini- stories told by the main character. It's about life (but is it really a life?) in a slum of Rio de Janeiro. Through the eyes of "the Rocket" - one of those few who were able to escape the misery of the slum we are told about the story of a gangster and local drug lord called Li'l Zé and his gang in a period of 60s-80s. The story...OK, what story can it be about? Killing, raping, drugs, crime, gang wars...that's it, that's the story.
Quotes like "A kid? I smoke, I snort. I've killed and robbed. I'm a man"
and
scenes like that with hardly 10 years old kid being forced to kill one of other two small boys are terrible. But worst of all is a title "Based on true story" at the end...
Grand story of the movie is wisely pieced together from several mini- stories told by the main character. It's about life (but is it really a life?) in a slum of Rio de Janeiro. Through the eyes of "the Rocket" - one of those few who were able to escape the misery of the slum we are told about the story of a gangster and local drug lord called Li'l Zé and his gang in a period of 60s-80s. The story...OK, what story can it be about? Killing, raping, drugs, crime, gang wars...that's it, that's the story.
Quotes like "A kid? I smoke, I snort. I've killed and robbed. I'm a man"
and
scenes like that with hardly 10 years old kid being forced to kill one of other two small boys are terrible. But worst of all is a title "Based on true story" at the end...
Daddy
(2004 Video)
Great tribute to Zdenek Sverak
3 June 2012
Warning: Spoilers
I consider Zdenek Sverak to be one of the brightest gems of Czech cultural scene. Actor, singer, author, scriptwriter...Portfolio of his activities is wide, but all of what he is doing, he is it doing great. In this long documentary (it went to theatres here in Czech Republic), he is talking about important moments and people in his life and I think that everyone who knows and likes his work will again realize what is his secret - everything he is doing, he is doing it because he wants to give people a joy. It's simple like this. In this movie, his confession is monitored by his son Jan, who was a director of Zdenek's several movies including an Academy award winning Kolya. It's clear that watching this movie makes sense only for those who knows his work, but for those of us, it is very pleasant to watch it. It is a good feeling to know that there are still people like Zdenek Sverak.
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