Justice for Selwyn

Noli tacere. Just from the subject matter you can tell what year this was made. The problem is that Weiss doesn’t cut deep and the whole thing just skims the surface. You know what the filmmakers are trying to say, but they don’t succeed in putting it across. Too little satire for a satire, too little humor for a black comedy and too few dramatic moments for drama. Karel Čapek’s short story succeeded better in this, even though the resulting movie is a very free adaptation. And it’s a shame, because in terms of acting this movie is first-rate and also the background music is an outstanding example of Zdeněk Liška’s talent as a composer. (04/06/2008)

Justice for Selwin is a film that sparked great hopes in me during my viewing, but by the end, it largely failed to fulfill them. The interesting material, which promised several layers of narrative and the potential to straddle multiple genres, was ultimately flattened by the creators into a conflict between a ruthless blackmailer and his victim, interestingly portrayed by Rudolf Hrušínský. The influence of the Western co-producer is evident in the film, as the visuals are more polished compared to the typical production of the 1960s. For me, the more intriguing aspect was the emergence and actions of various movements fighting for any cause and the effort to create heroes and mythologize their behavior, essentially adjusting reality to a better image. As the story's protagonist says: "It didn't actually happen that way, but they write it beautifully." However, this narrative layer is subdued, and it doesn't remotely achieve the directness and impact of the American film Hero. The script also suffers from a certain grandiosity and lacks moderation - Nobel Prizes aren't awarded in the real world for acts like those of the poet Unden. Overall impression: 55%. (08/09/2009)