11 /10
Jesus fukn Wept …
toss in white-knuckle fervour with the ferociously magnificent fantasy animation & the visual creativity renders all others as limply meh.
It’s also gloriously Epic on the big screen, & would be an utter waste to see on anything less …
& that kiss should’ve happened.
8.5 /10
It’s a great story;
you only need to see the original photos taken from the 1968 Prague Spring which are blended in, some of which I’d seen before while the majority I hadn’t.
Writer /Director Jiří Mádl successfully captures all that was horrific both about actually living within that sickeningly oppressive One-Party authoritarian rule & the now typical Soviet Union reaction to dissent.
I later realised this would be a perfect movie to show those generations of young Czech’s…
10 /10
Everything about that restaurant scene ... the fish-tank.. totally floored me with reactive emotions.
It's such a wonderfully slow-paced & visually beautiful movie, with some incredible performances.
That the photography captures the tropical climate so perfectly, which in turn adds another unsaid reflective layer - not something seen too often, but when done as successfully as in this movie is simply jaw-dropping.
PS: Director Karim Ainouz has listed his Top 10 Criterion Collection Movie List - it's an interesting & informative read.
10 /10
A deserving Berlin Award Winner which successfully goes that little bit further in restoring collective faith in a humane society.
Origins of the 12-14 year old students from 9 countries include Romania to Brazil, Turkey to Bulgaria, plus -
with all the respective cultural & religious differences & all in the process of successfully learning & speaking Deutsch.
What makes Dieter Bachmann so wonderful is his mantra & belief that the grades & test results don't reflect who each of those individual kids…
