Protector

This was made by a bold filmmaker who’s not afraid to go his own way and is able to take a light approach to talking about serious matters. Protector is a little miracle among contemporary Czech films. (16/09/2009)

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)

Proof that excuses for anything are just the alibis of filmmakers who won't admit their own inability to make a good film. Protector is European filmmaking in every sense. After it was over I was still staring silently for half an hour, searching for words. It’s one of those films that fascinates you while you're watching it, but you can't easily go back to it for its emotional impact. (26/04/2010)

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 don’t get it. Formally brilliant and complete (the harmony of music and image should serve as an example to other Czech films), and when listening to the dialogues you do not feel like someone is jamming a rusty corkscrew into your ear canal (even during the “I you love" expressions). When you are watching the story you feel that someone put some thought into it and presented to the viewer something that is noticeably missing. A plastic and non-hysterical image of succumbing to the magic of ideology, however primarily motivated by good intentions. A psychologically elaborate drama in which much more general features of the relationship between man and "history" are revealed on a protectorate backdrop. It's sarcastic, sophisticated and it has power. The image of riding a bicycle when watching it again is a phenomenally simple, and at the same time corresponding metaphor of any totalitarianism for me. Without the peddling man who seemingly has no influence on what is happening behind him, the illusion would not be perfect. Protector is a film that for years I have been longing for - mature, reflective, and it is free of Czech nonsense and stagnation. I forgive the mistakes. Love is blind. (16/09/2009)

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)

I can't say that I didn't like the movie outright, but I also can't say that I was enthusiastic about it in any way. In my opinion, it is a purely average film, and, due to the lack of funds and perhaps even the filmmaker's creativity, it feels more like a TV film. The theme of the Protectorate and the motive of the Jewish genocide contribute to this, but these concepts have been used many times in the past, and often better. All that is left for me is to sigh - if this is one of the most acclaimed post-November films and according to many enthusiastic comments even one of the peaks, then the state of Czech cinema is even more serious than I thought. Jana Plodková is interesting and unfamiliar, and her stylization of the character of a First Republic film star is quite convincing, but that is not enough for a great film experience. Overall impression: 60%. (14/05/2011)

Now all we're missing is a movie about laughing beasts, or will next year's movie be about "flies shitting on him"? Who knows? Anyway, I'm sure people will like it if it's technically up to scratch, content-wise without any ideas and message-wise again just a woman’s bust. Protector is said to be a cliché-busting film about life in the First Republic, whilst also being formally innovative, with above-average acting, that it’s daring, etc. The facts are, of course, somewhat different. It takes place between 1938 and 1942, and not against the background but right in the midst of the events that culminate in the assassination of the acting Reich Protector. If I am supposed to be amazed by the information presented in a simplified form that people functioning in the official culture of the Second Republic and the Protectorate have sex in their private lives, even cheat, and don't always speak in standard language, I would probably be living in a greenhouse somewhere. What was I told next? A rising movie star wears a wig. Hmm. A projectionist can be a thief, a fetishist, and a junkie. Hmm. The rest? Nothing. Hmm. So what did I have to in fact deal with? The misuse of several rare archival materials that still don't exist in their original form in the general public consciousness, so they can't have a true effect in a feature film. When I also take into account that Jana Plodková can’t speak decently in the film and a large number of supporting roles were given to comedians like Polášek or Budař, I feel sad. Not to mention Ornest's downright awkward moments... Unfortunately, we also have the absolutely unbelievable Sandra Nováková haunting the place and Petra Nesvačilová also does some barking. Sandra doesn't even act, she just shows her chest just like the main protagonist. All the realism of the late 1930s and early 40s is incredibly artificial and as believable as Marek Daniel’s shaved head, whose performance is the only one that comes close to being described as "acting." Still, even in his case, more work on the chosen replicas would not have hurt. I consider the only acceptable performance to be the bright moments that feature Richard Stanke, who also handled speaking German brilliantly. The fictional film Druhý život and its hit "Když zavřu oči," with its central chorus about a rose-colored eye, makes it all even better. (21/06/2010)

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)

Protector does have its flaws, but I enjoyed the story. It had great acting performances and I really liked the atmosphere of the Protectorate. I enjoyed watching it today just like I had enjoyed its premiere. (08/05/2020)

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)