Empties

Empties brings a nice and warm human scent on the topic of the eternally restless male heart, which somehow the rest of the body is no longer able to help. The film offers a fun, beautifully written and engaging sequence of stories, few of which feel far-fetched. The old man, as portrayed by Zdeněk Svěrák, breathes wisdom and joyful childhood more than rigidity or exalted moralization. Mainly thanks to him, after a long time, a Czech film that makes sense and has poetry is playing in movie theatres in the Czech Republic. Empties is not the peak of the son-father manufactory; nevertheless, I thank the film from the bottom of my heart for the warm feeling I took away from the movie theatre. (03/17/2007)

"Well, it's much easier, Helena. He was working extra hours at school because he could chat with the chatty Ptáčková in a tight sweater. And I taught with her, so I know what a bitch she is." Or the last great Svěrák-Svěrák film. Because what was to come in the next decade were just multiple epilogues. (01/03/2017)

Movies by members of the Svěrák family are probably the only Czech movies that I like watching and look forward to. The actors don’t just make silly faces, but act and the atmosphere of the story is captivating. Plus, the characters are well written and the story loses none of its tempo in the second half. Simply a fine family movie where everybody will find something to entertain them. (08/20/2007)

A guarantee of quality. Excellent script, excellent Svěrák in the lead role, but the best thing in the film is definitely Daniela Kolářová. It's amazing to watch her character nip every new idea of the protagonist in the bud, crush it and stomp it to the ground without even trying. I was royally entertained alike I am with every Svěrák comedy. It blows my mind how Zdeněk Svěrák can keep up such a high quality of writing for so long. 30 years after the premiere of Secluded, Near Woods, he has lost none of his genius. (06/27/2016)

Zdeněk Svěrák is still considered an excellent observer of what is happening around him, and he is able to write characters with a human dimension. All of them except his protagonist because Tkaloun struck me as a perfectly fabricated wishful thinking of an ideal pensioner, so it is in him that I miss the aforementioned soulful dimension. Moreover, I often miss the signature of Svěrák when he was younger, and he is content with (albeit) impressive references to his previous films. I don’t want to completely damn Empties, especially considering the rest of Czech cinema, so I give it an additional star, but also a star less for a film by this duo making me feel that it is calculated and slightly egocentric. A diffident 60%. (02/20/2008)