Charlatan

Jan Mikolášek was not among those who made great history, so he is not part of the great history either. Besides a handful of old folks and descendants of those he treated, no one knew about him until now. Your acceptance of the film largely depends on the fact that you do not know his true fate, because Marek Epstein adapted his life's periphery in a Hollywood manner, and Mikolášek himself would probably be shocked by what he was able to extract from his biography. Agnieszka Holland is an experienced European-level director, and under her leadership, a film was created that is worth seeing, one that is able to create a dramatic arc, captivate the viewer, and in which there are a number of scenes that will please cinephiles. This is significantly helped by the cast, led by Ivan Trojan, who gives his best performance, and it is quite possible that this is his strongest film role to date. If I have to criticize something, then it would be the screenplay, which does not adhere to logic and historical facts, right, Marek? The deeply religious Mikolášek would certainly not help with an abortion, let alone for such obscure reasons, and the state power would not need a monstrous trial with such a convoluted conspiracy where it could use bureaucratic tools for his elimination. I would encourage people to go see this film in the movie theater, it deserves it. Overall impression: 75%. (10/11/2020)

The film greatly surprised me (in a good way). After my previous experience with Agnieszka Holland, I wasn’t getting my hopes up. The fact is that the success of the film was mainly thanks to the protagonist, who took a break from shooting commercials for the Czech Railways, and once again showed us what Trojan is made of. What annoyed me about the film was the terrible EU ass kissing (literally), since the intimate scenes between the two lead actors stuck out like a sore thumb and why was there a need for a direct shot of a bunch of soft bell-shaped objects? Absolutely irrelevant and Mrs. Holland didn’t score any points with me this time either. However, the atmosphere of the 1950s was well captured and I am only glad that I decided to watch Witches' Hammer again yesterday. Inquisition, Gestapo and StB - find ten differences. (01/08/2021)

A drama of (almost) European parameters. The best scenes are definitely the ones with the young Mikolášek (the acting talent of the Trojan family is undeniable) and then the final act of the film when things really start to get rough. I admire Marek Epstein and Agnieszka Holland for how much of Mikolášek's life they managed to capture in a 110-minute film. Still, the way in which the "life and work" of Jan Mikolášek is presented has an air of ambiguity in some ways, and unfortunately that is definitely not a positive in this case. On the one hand, I applaud the fact that, alongside the portrait of the "poor man persecuted by the Nazis and the Communists", the filmmakers play out a very personal storyline in some passages and do not hesitate to portray Jan Mikolášek as a despicable manipulator and narcissistic egoist. Unfortunately, these motives remain largely unexploited and the viewer watches the gradual physical and moral decay of the main character with the absence of a corresponding conflict. Still, this is on the whole an above average piece of filmmaking that would find its place in some of the wider European top tier. (09/08/2020)

Charlatan perfectly fulfills the expectations of this year’s most anticipated domestic movie. Moreover with the level of quality which can’t be denied to Agnieszka Holland. Only if the movie would answer more questions than it would arise. After seeing this movie, it was really hard for me to make some sense out of Jan Mikolášek’s life. Nevertheless it is obvious to me that if there is but one thing clear about his life it is mainly the fact that his persona was strongly conflicted. But why Agnieszka highlights meaningless violence in some scenes is a mystery to me. Especially one particular scene really pissed me off and I would really like to know why it even was included into this movie. It doesn’t really explain anything, it just gets you some insight into one particular character. You want to like them for what they are doing, but you can’t really do that for the way they are acting. But at least this movie shows the reality of the Gestapo and communists and what horror it was in both cases. It is good that similar period movies are still filmed in our country and I would show these type of movies to contemporary communists on a loop so they would know how it ruined this country. From the movie making aspect, this movie is an exceptional experience. The performances were flawless as well. Each actor has his/hers place and there is nothing to complain about regarding their performances. Of course, Ivan Trojan is the absolute best even though intentionally slightly emotionless while his son is also becoming a contribution to Czech cinematography. But I have to admit that it was Mrs. Jaroslava Pokorná whom I enjoyed most. Her role was beautiful, one of the most beautiful I have seen lately in Czech movies. Considering all aspects of the movie, I have to say that Charlatan is a movie on European level and even though I find a lot of points to discuss in it I have to say I really enjoyed it. (08/25/2020)

My rating is a bit biased, because any time I’m lucky enough to see a Czech film in a cinema outside our country, I'm touched and proud. Especially when it's in a place where I wouldn't expect to see on of our movies. So for me it was more about where and how I saw the film than what it was like. I liked the complex and ambiguous nature of the character of the charlatan, I liked the cinematography, but the atmosphere was at times a bit more uncomfortable than I would have liked. Because of that, and a few distracting scenes, I don't think I'm going to catch it when it airs on TV. PS: So I thought it was impossible for me to forget to rate a film here, but actually you can. Thanks, user, for reminding me of Charlatan with your review today. 3.5 stars. (09/18/2021)