Kvaska

"What did you say?" A typical offering from the Kalich Theatre in Prague. This is either an ingenious condemnation of the degradation of the musical in this country, or the exact opposite. It’s impossible to tell how they intended it. In any case, this is pure hell that contains just two attempts at a musical number during the entire footage. You will be so happy to hear them that you won’t even mind that these attempts are truly hopeless. The cast is a travesty of acting and attempts at cameo roles are the “icing" on the cake. And the director? She has clearly seen Attenborough’s A Chorus Line, but that is probably the full extent of her qualifications. The indescribably bad result is all the more shocking because Landa’s music here isn’t bad at all and could have served as a firm foundation for a good musical. Could have, but... (02.11.2007)

It's extreme, and it couldn't have been anything else. And the feelings from the first half an hour were overly negative. Poorly presented exteriors during the escape or tragically presented audition, where the creators speak about every solid-sounding participant as an experienced professional, is just the beginning. From the opening credits, one huge casting question mark screams at me. Who is Filip Tomsa and who had the unfortunate idea to give him the main role? Even after those 106 minutes, I can't remember his face, his voice, or his acting. I wasn't with him in the theater or in prison, I just unintentionally ignored him. If the script wanted the main character to be an anonymous guide through the fading glory of the world, it succeeded easily, because a more forgettable face would be hard to find. Fortunately, there are several personalities among the actors who are an invaluable treasure for Kvaska. Jiří Korn has probably never been so pleasant and fresh in his life, and my inexplicably favorite sympathizer, Rudolf Hrušínský the Younger, played a perfect and vibrant antagonist, stealing the film for himself. Otherwise, there are plenty of disappointments among the rest of the cast. Landa too blatantly plays the boorish character even when he still has something to say, and Lucie Vondráčková is very attractive this time, but embarrassingly unexpressive in terms of acting. What bothers me more, though, is that the central romantic storyline is ridiculously stripped down to the necessary skeleton, which is only supported from a cold distance by either poorly fitting or well-fitting music. Similarly, the dead-end with the connection between the game plot and reality is just an unsuccessful attempt. But even though I am mostly critical, I am surprised by how many positive impressions remained in the end. Hrušínský and Korn truly shine, I still hum the more successful melodies, and in the final twenty minutes, it is truly a dignified musical-dramatic accomplishment when I was rooting for the entire theater cast. It doesn't have to bother me that I cheered for this project for a long time because Kvaska avoided the most important thing, which is that it would ultimately become a beautifully looking but hollow shell. But it was just by a hair. (25.09.2007)

I'm a huge fan of Daniel Landa, his music, and the Kalich Theatre. Really, and even though I'll be one of the few, I can't give anything but 5 stars. Yes, I'm proud of this film and I'm rooting for 2LANDA. (27.03.2011)

I didn't even want to see this movie - I had a dark suspicion when I saw the names of the creators, but the critics accepted this film not with enthusiasm, but with tolerance and certain sympathies, so in the end I couldn't resist. It is said that what is Czech is beautiful, but I have no need to save Czech cinema at any cost and in this film, all the misery that Czech cinema has been carrying lately is concentrated. Superficial script, lightly sketched characters, problematic dialogues, theatrical performance of some actors... I could go on for a long time. The only positive is beside the main musical motif Lucka Vondráčková, who has a certain charisma and sex appeal. Overall impression: 30%. (07.11.2007)