Maria Theresa

I am pleased that this cooperation between the four states was successful. The two-part opus tells a story of first years of Maria Theresa’s reign and it was very nice. They didn’t skimp on making it and it shows. The costumes and the castle’s environment are breathtaking and the characters are original. I particularly enjoyed every moment when a new character portrayed by a Czech or a Slovak actor appeared. But I enjoyed other characters as well. I was fascinated by how France cheated the whole of Austria-Hungary, which wasn’t the last time it happened or how the Hungarians, who, unlike the French, were really nice, approached the situation. It is true that the story is very general. I could easily imagine an epic TV series, which would go into more details of Maria Theresa’s early reign. I believe it would be worth it. The first part is to get to know the story and the second part is already full of politics. One thing I didn’t like, however, is when a director goes crazy and includes unnecessary sex scenes in the film. It was quite laughable here and I would have gladly given a naked Vojtěch Kotek a pass. Even though he was really great here otherwise. As well as Maria Theresa portrayed by an Austrian actress. The biggest surprise was the character played by Táňa Pauhofová who was extremely annoying in the beginning but later showed how well she can manipulate people. I am satisfied that Czech TV together with Slovak, Hungarian and Austrian ones finally made a story on a topic that is not well known here. (01/03/2018)

I’m glad that the creators decided to shoot a sequel to Maria Theresa’s story, conceived similarly to the first film but starring a different actress, which was a good fit for the role. I’m not saying she was better than the previous one, but in the context of the development of the story and the main character growing more mature she was simply a good choice. The films also benefits from the collaboration of several countries. There was enough money to make it epic, as evident by the casting, set designs and even costumes of everyone in front of the camera. The script might be a little TV-like, and I didn’t really discern any strong story in either of the two films. It looks just like a slice of life at a noble court, showing a little bit of everything. It, however, remains a great project and I’m hoping for another sequel. (01/10/2020)