Grapes

Grapes is an absolutely typical example of the fact that a relatively decent film, one that is nothing special, but still functional, is considered a great success in the Czech Republic. Which is absolutely tragic. Instead of everyone being happy that one quite acceptable summer film has been made, we have to watch miserably as the original modest idea turns into a not-very-successful trilogy full of nonsense and kitsch. That’s too bad, because the first film from Bařina was interesting at least in its individual aspects. But the attempt to continue the new tradition of post-revolutionary summer hits in the style of The Ride seems to be a bit beyond the capabilities of the current creators. (21/08/2020)

This is a feature-length advertisement for Mikulov and Moravian vineyards, supplemented by rough patchwork scenes and isolated weak jokes. The film has style with no substance, with unsympathetic protagonists offering only a pile of pseudo-philosophizing about wine and a handful of stereotypical clichés about the sunny Moravian utopia that is supposed to be a landscape full of rest, easy women and cheerful uncles. (01/03/2020)

This is a film from which I didn't expect anything special, and that is exactly what I got. The Moravian landscape, which I love, Tereza Voříšková, whom I don't love, but if I could, I would definitely love, and Lubomír Lipský all made it deserve three stars. Grapes has a nice mood, the end of summer is almost breathing out of the film... But only almost, because you still feel like you're flipping through a magazine full of photos rather than "being right there for an hour and a half". (25/10/2009)

An unexpected trip to a place where I felt so good as a viewer. Bařina sent me so much optimism that I drew from it for several weeks. I enjoyed myself, admired, dreamed, and maybe three times I was so absorbed that I didn't believe my own senses. I don't need wine for a lifetime, but here I maybe felt like opening it for the first time. At one time, a promise of hope not only for the summer but also for Czech comedy. It is such a pity that we see so little of this accurate judgment. (02/04/2008)

I was sick and tired of the constant repetitive jokes about people from Prague (and I'm not from there myself). I didn't even get a proper dose of humor that I expect of a comedy. It made me smile a few times, but my sides remained unsplit. The film’s main assets were definitely Kryštof Hádek, whom I would find convincing even as a scam artist, and Tereza Voříšková, whose cracked voice makes the rest of my functioning nerve endings shiver. (04/05/2020)