Kolya

Rating:
Summary: Touching tale of triumph of human spirits over brutal...
Review: Kolya is one touching tale of triumph of human spirits over brutal realities of conflicts of life.
With its unique blend of humour and drawn-out-straight life shots of plain everyday life of a struggling musician's perspective, the movie successfully manages to deliver its brilliance to the audience. Zdenek Sverák gave a very natural performance and Andrei Chalimon is simply breathtaking as Kolya.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Movie - For Many Reasons
Review: Many Eastern European immigrants live in my neighborhood in Chicago, so "Kolya" played at the local movie theater (the Davis, for those familiar with the city) for many weeks. On a whim, my wife and I went to see "Kolya" at the theater, and we have since watched it several times on video - each time with great enjoyment.

There are so many things to appreciate in this movie! The portrait of the crusty bachelor Loukas; the scenes of the musicians bantering among themselves as they play at the cremtorium (much like the musicians I know); the beautiful scenes of Prague and the Czech countryside; the wonderful music, including selections by Dvorak and Smetana; the portrait of the little boy Kolya, particularly the scene in which he tries to "telephone" his deceased grandmother. For someone like myself, who never experienced Communism first hand, the little scenes in which the characters express their fear of the Secret Police are chilling. And of course the exhilaration of the overthrow of the tyrannical Czech communist government - what a great moment that must have been.

It may be presumptuous for me to suggest this, but perhaps a story of reconciliation between a Czech and a Russian is a note of forgiveness toward Russia and Russians from a people who suffered greatly from Soviet tyranny: a reconciliation that must happen if Europe is ever to know a lasting peace.

No doubt there are better Czech movies. And no doubt there are subtleties in the movie that cannot be appreciated by someone like myself, who cannot speak Czech or Russian. But it is a very good movie nonetheless, and well worth seeing no matter what your background is.

Rating:
Summary: Bittersweet and unforgettable
Review: My husband actually brought this home from our public library and I am so very glad he did.

Having read the other reviews, I have to agree that most likely something was missed in translating to the English. "Word-play" in one language can be impossible to translate into another and still retain a humorous meaning. So I really didn't find the movie funny at any point.

However, it was an experience not to be missed. I thought the growing relationship between Louka and Kolya, complicated at first by their lack of a shared language and by the upheaval in both of their lives, was handled with great sensitivity.

The bathtub scene in which Kolya tries to "telephone" his dead "Grandma" will stay with me forever. Partly because I can imagine a real, grieving five-year-old doing something like that and partly because of Louka's silent but evident compassion for Kolya.

In the key-ringing scene, it was symbolic that the secret police investigators who interrogated Louka earlier in the movie are on-hand, ringing keys, and that the policemen and Louka see and acknowledge one another.

The movie was bittersweet in so many ways, as real life can be, also. There's so much more to say, but I don't want to ruin the experience for anyone who may not have already seen the movie.

For anyone thinking of watching it, please don't let the subtitles hold you back. It has been a very long time since I have seen a movie that was so strong in its simplicity and so honest in its character portrayals. Word-play may not have come through, but the humanity of the movie needed no translation.

Don't miss out.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful viewing.
Review: Not only is this a touching story, it is also at times, a humorous one. I will not bore you with the story line as I am sure you have read about it in previous reviews anyway.

It bought a tear to the eye of this grown man, even though the story is not that original, and you can pretty much guess the ending.

That said, this is still worthy of a couple of lazy hours. One of the better movies I have seen in a while.

Rating:
Summary: Great film
Review: One of the most enjoyable films I have ever seen. This is a masterwork.

Rating:
Summary: Very Pleasing
Review: See this movie. At least twice. Kolya is a tender story rich with humor. Czech Republic is a lovely place, and Prague is so full of history that everywhere you look, you can imagine Mozart in the picture.

Rating:
Summary: Far from reality
Review: The film fails to represent the role played by the Communist regime of 1980s Czechya. Government officials are perceived as "naive lame-ducks." The behavior of characters in the film, would not have been tolerated by the Moral Communist government.

Rating:
Summary: Kolya touched my heart
Review: The kid in the movie is absolutely adorable and the relationship that the man and the boy form is gorgeous. It was realistic at the end when the guy had to part with Kolya- no big happy reunion at the end, no Hollywood sappyness- just raw, real life. I loved this movie- the photography was striking showing Kolya stretch his hand out on the plane window over the clouds, showing the guy's toe sticking out of his sock. Everything was filmed at artistic angles. Delicous, a great movie to rent or buy. I personally want to own this movie- I will definately watch it again.

Rating:
Summary: Cute alternative to Hollywood.
Review: This is a "lite", cute movie that will offend no-one (except, as I see below, someone's Slovak relatives: teehee!) Please pay no attention to that Czech guy below who goes on about how "subtle" and deep the movie is and how no-one who hasn't lived through the experience, blah, blah, blah, will understand it: this is the standard claim of many a blowhard who thinks that only they have the patent on understanding their own history. After all, the Academy voted Kolya best foreign film, so how subtle could it have been? Just the opposite: with an eye to non-Czech audiences, the script is teeming with innocuous "explanatory notes" so that really everyone gets the drift eventually. The boy is cute, Mr. Sverak wry, the plot is quite funny, Prague is pretty, and the subtitles are pretty damn good (oh yes, I do speak Czech). All in all, a tasteful, decorous confection with a sweet but inoffensive dollop of sentiment.

Rating:
Summary: Cute alternative to Hollywood.
Review: This is a "lite", cute movie that will offend no-one (except, as I see below, someone's Slovak relatives: teehee!) Please pay no attention to that Czech guy below who goes on about how "subtle" and deep the movie is and how no-one who hasn't lived through the experience, blah, blah, blah, will understand it: this is the standard claim of many a blowhard who thinks that only they have the patent on understanding their own history. After all, the Academy voted Kolya best foreign film, so how subtle could it have been? Just the opposite: with an eye to non-Czech audiences, the script is teeming with innocuous "explanatory notes" so that really everyone gets the drift eventually. The boy is cute, Mr. Sverak wry, the plot is quite funny, Prague is pretty, and the subtitles are pretty damn good (oh yes, I do speak Czech). All in all, a tasteful, decorous confection with a sweet but inoffensive dollop of sentiment.