★ 7 / 10
Jan Hřebejk along with writers Petr Jarchovský and
Kevin L
Jan Hřebejk along with writers Petr Jarchovský and Robert Graves made a fine film about love, lust, benevolence, and the nastiness of those who think only of…
Jan Hřebejk along with writers Petr Jarchovský and Robert Graves made a fine film about love, lust, benevolence, and the nastiness of those who think only of themselves.
The ever lovely Anna Geislerová is great as the lead Marcela, whose husband Jarda is a car thief, though he married her when she was in dire straits and adopted her son. She's still drawn to Jarda, but it's more due to a young woman's desires than him being attractive due to his being a standup father and husband. She enjoys lustful sex and his physical abusiveness is an extension of a chauvinism that powers strong sexual encounters, but he is vain and not particularly bright.
The standup man is Benes, played so well by Josef Abrhám, who sees Marcela at her job and is right away, of course, attracted to her and seizes her being again in need of help as a chance to offer her his house in Prague. This gives him a chance to spend time romancing her as he works to sell the house before returning to his permanent home in Italy. But he finds himself being extorted by the very people he let stay in his house and who want to buy it from him as they have him basically hemmed in from access to the house after buying the property in front of it.
She's is in a bad way after leaving Jarda with the kids and staying with her mother, the loving Zdena, who is so afraid of being alone that she lives in denial of what a pig her man, Risha, can be. He can be bad enough to take advantage of a sixteen year old. Plus, there's the presence of Jarda's mother wanting Marcela to return to him and be there for her 'well-intentioned' boy.
Marcela keeps her head, ultimately, and Benes calls the lowlife brother and sister on their extortionist attempt by refusing to ever sell the house to them. Good beginning, middle and ending. I will say I was quite surprised by the use of Hansgard/Irglová songs which would also make up part of the soundtrack for the film "Once". I don't think they worked so well here.
3.4 stars
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★ 7 / 10
Beautiful Voice-Glen Hansard
furlong_cathy
Wow. At first I thought who writes these things! How hard is that choice between a man who offers you and your children wealth, respectability and security as…
Wow. At first I thought who writes these things! How hard is that choice between a man who offers you and your children wealth, respectability and security as opposed to a husband who offers you only oppression, abuse, degradation and poverty. However our choices are not always as clear cut cut as one would think. Indeed the wealthy gentleman was all a woman could aspire to and yet... the pull of her husband, her sexual desire for him was almost overwhelming. What to do, what to do?? As a viewer you became as confused and misdirected as she was. Anyway what I really came on this site to gush about was my admiration of the voice of the Engish, I thought, although it is actually the voice of an Irish singer in the film. Looking him up I find he is Glen Hansard, whom I had never heard of before that day. What a find. I am so grateful. Wow, what a voice! What a day! Thank you BIFF!
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