Czech Century

Czech Century (2013) 

The most important thing is not to consider Czech Century a scripted documentary, even though the format may suggest it. Sedláček and Kosatík usually reduce complex historical processes to thesis-like dialogues between two prominent personalities of the respective era. They subjectively adjust their attitudes and arguments according to their own ideas. Each of the portrayed events, if comprehensively approached, would be sufficient for a decent series on its own. With this approach, they become mere fragments of history in a significantly subjective presentation. In some cases, the casting is disruptive (typically Emanuel Moravec, who Daniel Landa portrayed with the presentation of his own opinions and speaking style). In the early episodes, the lack of courage to use German is noticeably evident, which comically stands out, especially in the dialogue between Count Thun and Masaryk, where the memorable sentence "You don't even speak Czech" is heard. The quality level of individual episodes varies, but as a whole, the series just manages to hold on to a four-star rating. Overall impression: 70%. (04/11/2018)