Marketa Lazarová

A film that is definitely not for everyone and will probably never be sufficiently appreciated by the general public. I too found the poetically conceived story a bit of a problem, but if I look at everything else – the detailed direction, the beautiful sets, the actors (the amazing Kemr) and especially the incredible atmosphere of the evil Middle Ages underscored by fantastic music – I have no choice but to give this gem a full rating. Vančur's distinctive approach commands respect, and František Vláčil perfectly captured it here and brought to the world a legendary film unparalleled in the history of Czechoslovakia. 90% (05/05/2013)

How is Markéta Lazarová one of the best conversions of a literary work? In that it is not just a conversion, but a complete rebirth. Out of kindness for Vančura's book, only the narrator and the character of a wandering monk remained; otherwise Vláčil's opus becomes a rough medieval fresco, replacing the perfection of Vančura's language with no less perfect language of paintings and symbols. The bleak musical accompaniment completes the director's efforts to evoke the medieval atmosphere by all means. Markéta Lazarová is not only strong with her story of love born of humiliation (she stands out much more in Vančura's book), but precisely because of her cinematic craftsmanship qualities. It is rather more of a great film essay – robust, with an unmistakable aesthetic and, in my opinion, absolutely brilliant, though not easily digestible. (01/25/2004)

Markéta Lazarová is certainly rightly referred to as the best film of Czech cinema, and even though I think better films have been made here, I still have to acknowledge its unmissable qualities. I definitely have to praise the craftsmanship, which is of a high standard for its time: from the amazing raw images of the Middle Ages, to Zdeněk Liška's unmistakable music, to the incredibly authentic production design. The story is very well constructed by being divided into two parts and interspersed with a plethora of allegories and symbols, but its biggest weakness for me was its excessive scope, which toyed with my perception as a viewer. In short, one of the gems of filmmaking created during the golden era of Czech cinema, shot in such a way that it has been able to stand the test of time. (07/01/2015)

Incredible to imagine, in an era when Czechoslovakian historical film consists of Báthory, to imagine that such a film as this one could ever have been spawned here. A legendary cinematic artifact, a gem of gems. I'd seen it once before in the cinema (remastered) after a hard day's work, dozed off twice and virtually failed to understand the connections between the characters (which I'm told is quite difficult without knowing the source material). Still, it was enough. I hereby commence my goal of seeing Marketa Lazarová at least ten more times in my lifetime. (10/12/2011)

3/4 of the movie is boring. And then... suddenly it's interesting, the moving pictures come to life and you think, great, finally something's happening, only then it slides back into boredom and you have 123 minutes to be bored or think about bug immortality. Really a shame about Markéta Lazarová, I was expecting more, but whatever. Seen as it was meant to be seen, I can't complain... (01/24/2009)