Leaving

* 18/12/2011 :-( Absurdist theatre on the screen and nothing else. Leaving doesn’t have that much charm, it’s not very funny, but that doesn’t matter if you are willing to listen to it. What’s a little amazing, and also a shame, is that after an entire life wishing to make a film, Havel didn’t make his (unfortunately) only film more “film-like”. But I don’t regret the ninety minutes I spent with Leaving. Václav Havel was just too smart a person to make a silly or uninteresting film. And after reading the comments of certain individuals, he’s someone we might have not been worthy of as a nation. Honour your memory. (12/18/2011)

Content-wise I have no problem with it - it is after all Havel's reflection on his own statesmanship. However, I miss the point of why it is so overly kitschy (the constant rides of Malíř's camera after half an hour are so maddening), and why the well-known actors are competing with each other to see who can overact more. Yes, the theatre of the absurd has its own laws, but in that case, it should stay in theaters because it has absolutely nothing to do with the film medium. Overall, Leaving is nothing but a film illustration of itself, which makes it perfectly self-centered, repulsive to the ordinary film viewer, and completely pointless. In terms of receiving Czech film awards, this is either another product of theatrical posthumous glorification, or the rest of Czech creations should never have seen the light of day. (02/09/2012)

If someone other than Václav Havel had directed that movie, I would absolutely dismiss it. The play on the same topic in the theater is excellent and it is very apparent that it should have stayed in the theater. The limited space of the stage actually helps it, as there is not much room to expand. The movie is a showcase of great Czech actors and somewhat of a tribute to itself, but sadly, that's all. (03/12/2014)

Such a colorful mausoleum of Václav Havel. The film is so terribly overloaded with intentional absurdity, tastelessness and diverse influences that any sting of the original text disappears in it and, unfortunately, its meaning is equally flawed. It is exactly the same syndrome that the Theatre on the Balustrade is dealing with after the death of Petr Lébl. Mixing Chekhov, Shakespeare, a Western, the First Republic, totalitarianism, entrepreneurial Baroque and many other ingredients so that the result has a clear meaning and really says something... that is the prerogative of great directors. And that's just not what Havel (with all due respect to him) is. Leaving is quite cute and fun in places, but as a whole it feels colorless and unnecessary. I don't know what the poet was saying - although otherwise, I like his verses very much. (03/17/2011)

In its own way, this is a very entertaining satire, which in its panoptical flexibility builds on the formal design of films by Pavlásková, Brabec, Šteindler, and Vachler. The unique world of Havel's Leaving turns into a parade of characters in spite of time, in spite of the political establishment, and just teases everything around it. However, we surprisingly get great costumes and characteristic acting performances in perfect symbiosis. The unique characters do not fit into one frame, but the overall image is almost jovially funny. (12/18/2011)