Gott verhüte!

Gesehen bei der Challenge Tour 2015: 30 Tage mit internationaler Kinematografie. Film Nummer 5 - Kroatien. Gott verhüte! kam anfangs als verrückte Komödie vom Balkan daher, dann wurde fast eine Tragödie und schließlich eine überkombinierte und närrische Tragikomödie heraus. Dieser Film war so überhaupt nichts für mich, und auch wenn man diesen kroatisch-serbischen Kampf in meiner Tour vom Genre her überhaupt nicht vergleichen kann, haben mich die Serben mit ihrer Rohheit mehr angesprochen. (06.04.2015)

Eine mil­li­o­nen­schwere Idee, die sich an einer malerischen kroatischen Küste abspielt. Sonnige Außenszenen, eine entspannte Stimmung von einem frischen balkanischen Schnitt, komische Figuren, ein volkstümlicher sowie intelligenter Humor (hervorragende Anspielungen auf die Kirche). Unter den ernsten Festival-Dramen eine super Entspannung, gleichzeitig geschmackvoll und mit einem Filmemacher-Niveau. (05.07.2013)

It is obvious that this film from the Balkans arouses quite controversial and, in many cases, hesitant and significantly negative reactions. In my opinion, this stems from two facts. Firstly, for quite some time, The Priest's Children presents itself as a lighthearted summer comedy with somewhat provocative themes. However, in the second half, serious tones quietly start creeping in, which eventually leads to tragic moments. In short, you are dealing with a tragicomedy. Understandably, an appropriately tuned viewer will find it difficult to digest. Secondly, the film openly plays with human sexuality and tackles taboo topics using folk humor, which seems somewhat sacrilegious to appreciators of high art. For me, it deserves an honest 4 stars and my overall impression is 85%. It did not disappoint, but there's still something noticeably lacking that prevents it from achieving perfection. (23.06.2019)

It is almost a rule for the Balkans that they can turn a serious story into a total farce, which makes you laugh whether you want to or not. Nevertheless, The Priest’s Children do it exactly the opposite way. When it comes to the story, it is a great comedy, which I at times consider unnecessarily tragic. Well, that’s the Balkans. I think I haven’t seen a single movie of theirs that isn’t at least a little bit tragic. Anyway, I still really enjoyed the The Priest’s Children. With the arrival on a small Dalmatian island I remembered every time I travelled to Croatia and I immediately felt great. I don’t know about you, but for me, their islands are like a small visit to heaven, although the locals probably have a different opinion about that. Nevertheless, the locations made me so excited about the film that I had to watch it again the following day. That’s how happy this movie made me. (21.06.2014)

A folk comedy and exactly the type of film Zdeněk Troška will never make. This is a film that has a lot of humor flowing from the screen. I have never seen such imaginatively-processed running-jokes. Yet what surprises me most is that most films like this lose steam in the second third, only to moralize in the final third. Here they keep it going to the very end. A standing ovation for the filmmakers is well deserved. (04.07.2013)