Rating: 
Summary: Too adorable
Review: This movie was very touching. I loved the suspense of not knowing what will happen to the man or the boy. Very well acted, especially by the little boy. You just want to pinch his cheeks. And I love his nickname, "Kolya." I would recommend this film to anyone who loves a good movie with a happy ending. Its also a good movie for anyone just venturing into foreign films. This one is very easy to swallow.
Rating:
Summary: Unforgetable
Review: Truly one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen. The acting was superb! I have watched it twice because you do miss the facial expressions of the actors since your eyes are busy reading the subtitles. The bathtub scene was far and away the most touching I have seen and will remain with me forever. I loved this movie.
Rating:
Summary: The Great Funeral of Communism
Review: Very charming indeed. It's about a cellist in his late forties when his country Czech was under the domination of the Russians. As the story unfolds, viewers are taken into some beautiful sceneries in the most beautiful city of the world plus Prague's counrtyside and some village life in Czech.
The cellist used to be a member of the Czech Philharmonic but was ousted for political considerations. He played in the funerals and renewed tombstone engravings in the graveyard to survive. He was talked into a to bogus marriage to help repairing his mother's house and to get himself an old car. Unexpectedly he was landed with a 5 years old kid ( acted by one of the rarest young actors ever) who only spoke Russian and very little Czech whom he treated with much humanity. And like "The Unbearable Lightness of Being", the Communist Party suddenly fell apart...
The music, the vocal, the cello and the chamber music that formed the Requiem was just beautiful-- and it turned out to be the funeral of Communism. Definitely a great Eastern European movie. Recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Pleasing
Review: We are introduced to Louka in the twilight of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia, a 55-year old incorrigible womanizer, blacklisted concert cellist, and a bachelor with the typical bachelor conundrum -- how to make ends meet. He's slipping further into poverty when he agrees to participate in a scam to save a Russian woman from deportation by, you guessed it, marrying her. She promptly flees to the West, leaving Louka with her 5 year old, Russian-speaking son, Kolya. That's somewhat predictable, but the film has a warmth that you'd expect from Disney and carries a fluent minimalism that is truly effective. Setting the story against the backdrop of the approaching "Velvet Revolution" emphasizes Louka's spiritual growth. It does not rush his slow realization of his capacity to love, pried out by his young, innocent ward. On the somewhat downside, the movie doesn't take too many risks, I had the sense that I could second-guess most of the next screens. Yet, this is a brilliant film with a really adorable kid, and IMHO deserved its Oscar every bit. Definitely a worthy rental!
Rating:
Summary: HEART-WARMING CHARMER
Review: We are introduced to Louka in the twilight of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia, a 55-year old incorrigible womanizer, blacklisted concert cellist, and a bachelor with the typical bachelor conundrum -- how to make ends meet. He's slipping further into poverty when he agrees to participate in a scam to save a Russian woman from deportation by, you guessed it, marrying her. She promptly flees to the West, leaving Louka with her 5 year old, Russian-speaking son, Kolya. That's somewhat predictable, but the film has a warmth that you'd expect from Disney and carries a fluent minimalism that is truly effective. Setting the story against the backdrop of the approaching "Velvet Revolution" emphasizes Louka's spiritual growth. It does not rush his slow realization of his capacity to love, pried out by his young, innocent ward. On the somewhat downside, the movie doesn't take too many risks, I had the sense that I could second-guess most of the next screens. Yet, this is a brilliant film with a really adorable kid, and IMHO deserved its Oscar every bit. Definitely a worthy rental!
Rating:
Summary: Heartwarming with cultural details
Review: When Louka agrees to marry a Russian woman so that she can stay in Czechoslovakia, I was waiting for Gerard Depardieu to hop onto the screen. But the story really has little to do with the marriage and much more to do with the relationship that develops between young Kolya and this cynical man.
The cyclical theme of acceptance is seen throughout the movie, and is seen largely when Louka finds himself defending the little Russian boy to his mother ("Not all Russians are the same").
On of the most touching parts is when 2 homesick, Russian soldiers (remember that they are not much appreciated in the area) are thrilled to see Kolya playing outside. Mistakingly thinking that the household is Russian, because the little boy speaks it, they go to the door to try to befriend the family.
Although the movie is rated PG-13 this really is an excellent family movie.
Rating:
Summary: A TRULY MOVING MASTERPIECE
Review: WOW!!! I AM A STUDENT AND I GOT TOLD I HAD TO WATCH THIS MOVIE IN PREPARATION FOR A CLASS- THANK GOD I WAS TOLD THAT!! I LOVED THIS FILM. ITS BEAUTIFUL, MOVING AND TOUCHING LIKE NO OTHER FILM. SURE IT WAS HARD TO UNDERSTAND A LOT OF THE UNDERLYING MESSAGES DUE TO THE READING OF THE SUBTITLES BUT IF YOU WERE TRULY INTERESTED AND LOVED THE FILM FIRST TIME ROUND THERE SHOULD BE ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEMS HAVING TO WATCH IT AGAIN, AND AGAIN AND AGAIN.... CZECH AND RUSSIAN RELATIONS ARE PORTRAYED BRILLIANTLY IN THIS FILM AND THE THEME OF CZECH AND RUSSIAN CO-EXISTANCE IN THE WAKE OF THE COMMUNIST PERIOD IS REALIZED UNMISTAKABLY THROUGH THE STORY OF A LITTLE RUSSIAN BOY DUMPED WITH HIS 'CHEMODAN' AND THE GRUMPY YET COMPASSIONATE MAN WHO IS FORCED TO TAKE HIM IN. I RECOMMEND ALL SEE THIS FILM MORE THAN ONCE SO AS TO CAPTURE THE TRUE ESSENCE OF THIS WELL DESERVED OSCAR WINNING FILM.
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