Detektiv-2

An extremely chilling movie. I couldn’t get a word out of my mouth for a good while after this ended. The historical events that were unavoidable are depicted in a raw, realistic and shocking way. People paralyzed with fear, hate and depravity. The acting was excellent; I must mention in particular marvelous performances from M. Borová, P. Špalková, Z. Kronerová and M. Ludvíková. All of these actresses were convincing and a hundred percent involved. The camerawork, the music and it being shot in black and white underpin the atmosphere. OK, so the movie lacks any climax, but you can’t expect any climax from those awful times.

I was expecting a sports documentary about the success behind the top Czech tennis players, but instead, I got very amateurishly produced interviews on Czech Television, which had almost tabloid-level content. I also feel negatively about the shaky camera and the annoying host of this project. There were a few interesting pieces of information that I wanted to get, but they accounted for only about 10% of the whole documentary.

A catchy story from the world of talented classic musicians. The music is sweetness for the ears and although I’m not a great fan of classical music, the chosen melodies fit this movie wonderfully. It takes a while to get used to the central character, but I ended up understanding her. The story rattles on and rises gradually toward the climax. In places it’s hard work, in places amusing, but it’s certainly a quality watch. I rate the work with live camera which gave dynamic emphasis to those scenes where it’s used.

After the excellent first chapter, I was greatly looking forward to the sequel, but unfortunately it’s pure disappointment. Almost nothing works. Zero horrific atmosphere, tons of ridiculous creatures that appear in nonsensical situations and their behavior makes you want to laugh rather than scream, and the story drags... There’s no chemistry between the actors and in places it seemed like the filmmakers were making it up as they went along. The wonderful scary clown from part one doesn’t come across so horrific and sometimes he just seems dumb. The inclusion of childhood enemies and the loony bin were utterly superfluous. This is full of negatives and things that simply don’t work. But, despite the extended running time, it was bearable and there were a couple of really good moments here and there.

This is a feelgood comedy with lots of seriously loose ends, but even so, there were several moments when I felt I was having a great time. It’s really only meant to be watched once, but the central trio is really likeable.

I wouldn't be afraid to say that this is a truly exceptional endeavor, whether it is the visual and technical aspects, or the story itself, which has come to life in such strength for the first time. I am incredibly glad that I was introduced to Božena as she truly was and that the immaculate literary delusion disappeared. I must admit that after watching this successful series (acting performances, costumes, brilliant musical accompaniment - how I enjoyed that, truly a masterpiece), I love this personality of Czech history even more.

This is a pleasant movie, but it gives us only a very simplified story, in places just a torso of this great man. But I think that if you don’t know the historical background, you won’t get much out of this movie. In any case, the acting is great and, despite the almost complete lack of emotion, the scenes with Olga partly make up for that. The visuals are good and there were some good ideas; it’s good to remember his legacy, but it could have been done even better.

This has just the right soul. It’s playful, creative, original and everything is nicely underpinned by excellent music. But still, I felt it was missing something that would have helped me get better acquainted with the characters and I would have expected more of the same ideas that were hinted at the end.

It’s really lucky that this movie was filmed back in 1961, therefore giving it the chance to become almost a cult Hollywood movie. In my opinion, it’s about nothing in particular and it’s interminably long. An hour would have been more than enough for the entire movie. In some places, Audrey Hepburn is so one-dimensional that she is thoroughly unconvincing. The movie plays at something it isn’t. It has just one bit of magic about it: the time and place it was filmed.

Ester has gone through various adventures and personal development. The story is rather dramatic, but it seems to have a happy ending. Certainly, some topics could be discussed in more detail, and there were definitely plenty of them. On the other hand, I understand that Ester has become a public figure, losing almost all her privacy, and it was evident that she wanted to preserve some of it.