The Enchanted Cave

The Cursed Cave mixes beautiful natural scenery (snowy landscapes, a deep lake, distant green hills, stalactite caves) with an enchanting fairy tale story (good vs evil, harmony with nature vs greed) and a somewhat flimsy script and strange casting. The production design and costumes are of a high standard (perhaps only Predrag Bjelac looked more buffoonish than the magician with gunpowder), and the story, though not innovative but purely fairy-tale and educational, had its charm. In the first third, the sequence of scenes with the seasons was quite lame. However, the biggest stumbling block was (for me) the cast: some actors and actresses seemed to me rather stiff in their roles, and Tanya Pauhofová was not a happy choice for the villain, while the demonic Karel Dobrý overacted in a role that suited him at first sight. In the end, though, this is still a good co-production tale for just one viewing. (02/06/2022)