Protector

I’d give it 7/10, but I don’t feel at all like rounding up this time. Visually, this is an exceptionally beautiful film, the performances are flawless and so is the direction, but it lacks pace in a terrible way. Yes, it’s boring! I liked Normal a lot more than this tarted-up romance, and I’m also not really sure what it is (primarily) about… (12/12/2009)

A beautiful and incredibly original movie. Who would have thought that we can shoot an interwar-era movie in such an original way in our small country… Marek Najbrt came up with an innovative directing, Miloslav Holman came up with an innovative camerawork and the band Midi Lidi along with Petr Marek put together a soundtrack that will probably lure me in for a listen for the rest of my life. And, of course, I can’t forget to mention Tuček, Najbrt a Geisler who wrote a perfectly ingenious script, and also the acting performances of the actors and actresses like Jana Plodková and Marek Daniel. Not only is Protector, without a doubt, a job well-done, but it might also be one of the most original movies that our little country had the honor to film. I congratulate and thank the creators for this grand movie experience. (17/07/2015)

I have been complaining for a long time that Czech cinema has been avoiding letting skeletons out of the closet of local history, while our German neighbors have been tackling one historical blot after another. Plus, they almost always do this in an unforgettable way. And so I am really extremely grateful that somebody here has tried at last. That it remained just an attempt is another matter... It was clearly lacking any dramatic tension. Tension that was present in The Ear. Cut deep and not just skate about on the surface. Even so, this is a sufficiently high quality picture (the scenes with the bicycles, the scenes with the photo-shoot!) that withstands, despite its shortcomings. P.S.: The poster only makes sense with the opening line, which, while being original, I would say is a little counterproductive. And also I wonder whether the similarity of the story with the fates of Čeněk Šlégl was merely incidental or not. (24/09/2009)

The best Czech film I've seen in years - and not just in the movie theater. There is not a single needless scene, and the direction, the superbly stylized and deliberately color-poor cinematography and the music complement each other perfectly. All this with likeable actors who really know how to act. I applaud and I will definitely go see it again. I hope as many people as possible do the same - this film shouldn't get lost. I give it a big chance at foreign festivals. (23/09/2009)

Finally, a film that tries to come to terms with the past in a relatively civil manner. What "Lidice" failed to do, this gray film succeeds in, as if joy were missing here. It's almost as if there were no color, plus there are great details that the film focuses on and that enhance the era, place, and event. Just one ordinary wheel and what it can do. Occasionally, interesting filmmaking techniques are used, which only make the film even more intriguing, capable of taking the past seriously and yet differently, but not badly. (23/12/2013)