NinadeL

Of the few feature films by Dušan Hanák, the last two in particular are an excellent experience. Here, in Private Lives, he collaborates repeatedly with Magda Vášáryová after Simple Pleasures. Vášáryová's acting partner is Šulcová and their common fate is Helšus. The sisters are each different. The older one is just coming to terms with the fact that she will never have any more children, and the younger one is becoming a mother for the first time. The older one takes care of others, while the younger one is an actress. Their mother makes it clear which of them she considers weaker. Despite their professions and roles in society, both of them live very ordinary lives, with no luxury to fall back on... especially when their husband refuses to write pro-regime orders. A dense civilian film about a generation that could have had it all.

Starting with Poláček's Muži v offsidu, one of the nation's most beloved passions was decided on. Soccer Fans boldly follows up and proves that the topic of fandom is still relevant. Ján Lacko was able to handle the trio of Dibarbora, Mrvečka, and Garlatty, and for that alone he should get a medal. For the next generation, we’ll get a film about women and football.

A film image on how we organized President Kennedy's funeral. Unfortunately, Jackie falls into that wave of biopics that pick only a minimal fraction of a key figure's life and build on that. It conveys nothing more than the heightened emotion of a single moment, and that is a complete waste for the surface of a feature film.

A structured look into the private life of Slávek Šimek. Some of the accounts are very honest, and emotions were very tense at the time as it was filmed almost immediately after his death. However, the whole thing has to be taken with a grain of salt, like all these Ostrava documentaries.

A traditional look back at Jiří Grossmann, full of pathos and multiple confessions, but with a few extra bits. Yes, even today's teenage girls are falling in love with Grossmann and their slightly older classmates are writing their theses about him, but his own classmates also remember him... Simply put, less would definitely be more. At the end of his life, Šimek managed to name an entire theater and a Prague passage after Grossmann, and he published a complete library of collected writings in his name, so there would be plenty to talk about for hours, but instead, we watch Naďa Urbánková searching for the defunct Sluníčko club for long minutes. Pure futility.

Ján Roháč has not been given much space in documentaries. Shortly after his death, a pathetic program was created called V hlavní roli režisér. In hindsight, just this installment of a series about famous people on Czech TV. Which isn't much. This is mainly an insight into his private life, the main theme being his relationship with Hegerová and the story of his marriage to Zuzana Burianová. His career is being blunted by the way. Rejžek offers a certain interpretation, whilst others only dreamily recall.

A cute Weimar romantic comedy with Magda Schneider and Trude Berliner. The plot is beautifully straightforward, with the telephone operator environment interspersed with an excellent bar. Magda is the gentle and still a bit naive character, while Trude, on the other hand, represents the one who already knows things. And yet both of them are entitled to love. The highlight of the film is the hit "Ein Kuss mit Liebe."

The genesis of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever is truly admirable. Henry James wrote the novel "The Sense of the Past" in 1917. A decade later, in 1926, the text was turned into the play "Berkeley Square." The film (1933, 1951) and television versions (1959) were made under this title. In the mid-1960s, the material would catch on on Broadway under the new title "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" (1965). From there, it's just a step to a new film musical with a new musical star, Barbra Streisand, whose partner is Hollywood's successor to Maurice Chevalier, Yves Montand. So much for the answer to why even such a seemingly modern substance is stuck in the past while funny characters like Jack Nicholson with a sitar won't change that.

This clever satire responds to the global phenomenon of Hitler, who has been living a second life since 1945. There have always been many ways to deal with the infamous legacy of National Socialism. Hitler has become a caricature and an object of research in every conceivable respect. TV stations present documentaries about all the banalities of everyday life from 1933 to 1945. The youth of Adolf Hitler is, of course, a separate topic. That's what we have all these movies like Hitler: The Rise of Evil (2003) or the stage adaptation of "Mein Kampf" (2009). This time the parallel with today's popular formats, brought to popularity by Sacha Baron Cohen, comes into play. Fortunately, the result is not on the level of a cheap tale, because thanks to the in-depth research the work is chillingly authentic. The potential for the return of evil is always there.

There are many levels in which to perceive The Law of Love. For example as a report on all the work the Czech’s have done so far in the issue of same-sex marriage. With all the ups and downs that it encompasses. And as a compact package of information on this issue in the Czech Republic. Or as a much-needed dialogue. #Palmofffest