Barefoot

I was expecting to laugh a bit more, but the mood of the film was rather melancholy. I was okay with that as soon as I realized that this wasn't going to be one of Svěrák’s typical comedies, and I quite enjoyed the film. I really liked the atmosphere of rural idyll spiced up with war events. What I loved were the performances of Oldřich Kaiser and Tereza Voříšková and the film’s subtle humor. It was an incredibly relaxing and feel-good film. (06/03/2018)

Filming is something Jan Svěrák hasn't forgotten how to do, but creating picturesque images and working with a retro atmosphere alone is not enough for a fulfilling cinematic experience. You also need a functional screenplay. I don't know why Jan didn't utilize his father's abilities, who is one of the best screenwriters of the last decades. Barefoot does not work, and when I use this term, I really mean it doesn't work from a dramaturgical standpoint. Even though Jan Svěrák fills his film with plenty of stuff, in the end, it is incredibly empty. You don't just need memories, you have to piece them together properly. This film is helped to a considerable extent by sentiment, but I won't assist it in that, as there are plenty of others who can. Overall impression: 45%. I can't help but have a reservation about Oldřich Kaiser's casting. Even though there is not a big age difference between Vetchý and Kaiser, the years when Kaiser was drinking heavily have unfortunately taken their toll on him, so he could actually play Vetchý's father. By the way, both he and Ondřej Vetchý are slightly too old for Tereza Voříšková and their little son... The scene by the pond, where Voříšková and Kaiser exchange a long, emotionally charged gaze, and in which it is evident that the director wants to evoke in the viewer the impression of either a platonic or fulfilled past relationship, brings to mind associations with pedophilia more than anything else. (17/09/2017)

I find it hard to review this... I love the book and audiobook very much, it has the beautiful atmosphere of childhood memories, it's warm, and the little guy's view of big things in it is magical. Zdeněk Svěrák the writer was able to write it, Zdeněk Svěrák the actor can also tell the story... But while Jan Svěrák the director was able to film it, Jan Svěrák the screenwriter unfortunately couldn't tell it as well as his father. Hard to say if it was even possible... But some scenes should have been longer or should not have been there at all, some situations in turn definitely should have been shown to viewers so that they and Eda would not learn them only secondhand (we should have seen at least the “grandmother who was coming toward them" or “Péťa who flew off") and then it would have been more pleasant, more coherent. And I didn't understand the purpose of one change from the book, where the mom and Eda meet someone else at the pond. But just so I don’t complain so much, I must commend the actors (Ondřej Vetchý is particularly accurate, Tereza Voříšková, with a few exceptions, feels very natural, Oldřich Kaiser is a certainty, and Jan Tříska as well), the music by Michal Novinski, the believable period atmosphere, the nicely captured countryside and plot of reviving scenes of Eda's imaginations. Three and a half. (18/08/2017)

You know that you are watching a very well done film from the 2nd WW period, but at the same time you feel that there is basically no story. And I would be ok with that if only the character played by Oldřich Kaiser (who is getting better with every role) wasn’t made the most interesting one and basically holds the whole story together but then it is killed off in the most disgusting manner towards the end of the film. And this end was my biggest Czech movie disappointment in a very long time. (04/01/2018)

The film didn't disappoint me outright, but I had hoped it would be even funnier, with more humor from Zdeněk Svěrák, but it's a bit weaker in that regard. As a nostalgic film, it works, especially thanks to the great child characters. The storyline revolving around the character of Vlk (Oldřich Kaiser) had much more potential within it. (20/08/2017)