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Reviews (3,575)

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(Half) The Time of My Life (2008) 

English The film is scattered, without a concept, and unedited, so it is difficult to grasp the essence of the documentary. A certain generational statement would be interesting, and the theme is exactly what this film highlights. However, it should have been much more focused, because the few truths that emerge from the confessions can be determined more simply. The young Austrian "European" generation is individualistic and afraid of having children, and when they do decide to have them, they are spoiled only children. They want to enjoy all the possibilities that the still wealthy Europe offers them, but they are afraid of the future and taking responsibility. At the same time, they feel that something is wrong because their parents at the same age already had a secure existence and established families. Overall impression: 45%.

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The Promotion (2008) 

English A deeply human, sensibly portrayed independent film that reminded me of the more famous and acclaimed The Station Agent. The story of two salesmen competing for a management position in a newly opened suburban store is filmed in a comedic spirit, but the humor is highly civil and gentle, definitely not provoking bursts of laughter but rather a subtle smile on the lips. It also contains deeper moments that lead to reflection on the value scale and lifestyle. Working in retail is not considered prestigious and offers many opportunities to humiliate the main characters. It would have been possible to fill the film with cheap jokes during clashes with dissatisfied customers or a gang of youths from the outskirts, but everything in the film has a solid level that does not go to extremes. Overall impression: 75%.

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Fateless (2005) 

English The high-quality book awarded with a Nobel Prize is clearly felt in the film, as it is a powerful story whose main advantage is authenticity and absence of emotional manipulations, so well-known from Spielberg's films. This is simply a credible story of a hero who survived extermination concentration camps and returned to find that his former material and emotional basis is in ruins and he must start over from scratch. I liked this film more than Schindler's List for its realism and credibility, but the sobriety with which it is filmed deducts a fifth star. Overall impression: 85%.

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Zapomenuté transporty do Běloruska (2008) 

English Unlike his other films in the Forgotten Transports series, here Lukáš Přibyl gives more space to the former Soviet party, i.e., the local Jews, whose position was somewhat more bearable due to their knowledge of the environment and connections outside the ghetto. He also describes the strong partisan movement in Belarus and the involvement of Czech Jews in it, and he can describe the extremely complex situation when completely contradictory groups participated in the resistance, whether in terms of political opinions or ethnicity. Once again, it is a very strong theme that makes one's blood run cold from the concluding testimony that out of 7,000 Czech Jews, only 22 returned alive. Overall impression: 80%.

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Forgotten Transports to Latvia (2007) 

English From a filmmaker's perspective, the series of documentaries about forgotten transports of the Jewish population to Eastern Europe is not that interesting, because Lukáš Přibyl is primarily a historian, and in his first documentary project, he simply combines the most banal production procedure - alternating talking heads and old photos or visual recordings - but the strength of the documentary does not lie in that. The strength manifests itself in the fact that Přibyl preserves human memory by capturing the last living witnesses of past massacres and conveying their testimony to a wider audience. Had he come up with this idea 10 years later, the living witnesses simply would not exist anymore. Historians know the history of these extermination camps and ghettos, but unlike the tragedy of Auschwitz, this part of history remains unknown to the general public. Přibyl portrays the fate of Jewish exiles in an environment that was permeated with antisemitism and local nationalism. A very powerful documentary. Overall impression: 80%.

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Vinci (2004) 

English I don't remember Machulski's older, more successful films from the 80s very well, with the exception of the recently rewatched King Size, but I can recall that they always had a sense of humor and style. I found the same in Vinci, which thematically follows Hit the Bank or rather Ocean's Eleven and Screwed. It's like a cheaper Central European version, which, unlike Ocean's Eleven, doesn't have the star-studded cast and perfect execution, but for me, it's ultimately more likable and human. The released thief Tsuma decides to steal a highly valuable classic painting and at the same time wants to thoroughly mock the detectives who once sent him behind bars. Machulski manages to delight the audience through the diverse criminal team participating in the audacious heist and shows that he still has a lot to offer. Overall impression: 75%.

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The Code (2002) 

English In a certain respect, The Code is similar to the successful and critically acclaimed crime film A Prophet in that it portrays French society where the Arab, black, and Muslim elements now prevail over the original French ethnicity. While A Prophet was a departure from classic gangster films and attempted to observe the rise of an ordinary criminal somewhat uninvolved and in a so-called artistic style, The Code aims not for almost scientific examination of a certain phenomenon, but rather for a classic adventure story of two gangs clashing and the main character struggling with his own past and family relationships, which divert him from the decision to burn bridges for his criminal career. The fact is that he has a wife who is expecting a child and does not want to repeat his stay in prison. However, his younger brother also desires to escape from the hopeless existence in the Paris suburb and a career as a drug dealer presents a unique opportunity... Overall impression: 60% for a decently acted affair, albeit one not deviating from the genre's rules.

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Despicable Me (2010) 

English I headed out to watch Despicable Me with my kids, and I have to admit that they enjoyed it much more than I did. The emotional part of me even wanted to give the film a Boo! review. Of course, it is nonsense to criticize a children's animation for being childish, but I must point out that Despicable Me simply lacks the dimension of a family spectacle that would appeal to every age group equally. The problem is not that jokes targeted at adult audiences are completely absent, but rather that this film is not sufficiently clever or well-developed, causing the attempts at more mature humor to get lost. Despicable Me shows signs of the ongoing economic crisis and animosity toward its instigators. The film's villains go to banks to borrow for their criminal plans, and the bankers compete to support particular villains and devilish plans. Super villain Gru enters a bank through a special entrance reserved for the chosen ones, bearing the name of a failed financial institution that contributed to the banking crisis. However, all of this gets lost in the conflict-free, sweet world full of pink colors, hearts, pretense, giggles, yellow creatures called Minions, and most importantly, inhabited by three candy-loving orphan girls who effectively pacify Gru's anger. They use similar methods as child movie stars from Hollywood films of the 1930s and 1940s used to reconcile quarreling parents. Despicable Me is a highly conventional and predictable film, unlike successful family animations of recent times, such as Shrek, which cleverly parodied the very conventions and style established by Disney, which Despicable Me represents. Overall impression: 40%, with the consideration that children can safely add 2 stars.

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The Reader (2008) 

English If this film was supposed to be primarily a drama about responsibility, guilt, and punishment, it failed to evoke the relevant emotions and catharsis in me. The film combines two problems: the relationship between a 15-year-old boy and a woman from an older generation, and the conflict arising from the young woman's involvement in war crimes. I am not familiar with the book, so I cannot assess to what extent the film's shortcomings stem from the literary material or the screenplay. However, some motifs and layers of the characters' relationship remained hidden or failed to captivate me. The stronger problem in general seemed to be the relationship between two unequal sexual partners. The genesis of this relationship is not particularly shocking, although it is certainly one of the few taboos that still exist today. Post-war Germany had to deal with the problem that millions of men had fallen on the front lines, so women found various ways to help themselves. The aspect of crime and punishment does not work for two reasons: firstly because the protagonist's involvement in the crimes is unquestionable, and secondly, because this line is overshadowed by the bizarreness of the whole plot and the main character. The characters seemed too flat to me, and the film felt dragged out. Overall impression: 55%.

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The Bedroom Window (1987) 

English The Bedroom Window reminds me of the famous Hitchcock film with its title, and the whole thing is also constructed, cast, and acted in a way that clearly pays tribute to the master's classic work. The search for a serial killer of women brings together a sympathetic protagonist who, as was customary for Hitchcock, faces suspicion of the crime, with no less sympathetic victim portrayed by Elizabeth McGovern. Terry Lambert is torn between two fateful women, and while I wouldn't want his worries, on the other hand, McGovern and Isabelle Huppert are beautiful and have charisma to spare, so his suffering also has a bright side. Overall impression: 75%.