Cosy Dens

As a person who's been in Czech Republic and knows many Czechs, I say this movie reflects a lot from the genuine Czech lifestyle.

The framing when switching from one family to another is splendid, and the characters are absolutely brilliant. An average person could say Jindra's father is a little bit exaggerated, but I found my own father in him so I can relate. Czech family structure and its orientation with the iron curtain culture is elegantly touched. Also, the sad fact that some people unfortunately have to leave their homes and move abroad is another major issue of this movie. I believe anyone from a country that has a lot of negative immigration will feel something different watching it.

Another success of the director is that, the scenes spend a lot of time with the Christmas time. But it never gets boring. What I'm looking for in a movie is depth, (which is why I don't really fancy most American movies) and it's present in this one. Social issues, relationships, politics, traditions, everything! In addition to all this, Kristyna Novakova has an outstanding performance, and to me she's a starlet with a bright future.

Czech this movie out! You won't be disappointed...

A beautifully understated story of ordinary people living their everyday lives through the trying times of Christmas '67 and the Prague Spring during the run up to the Soviet invasion. While the setting has be caught with stark and depressing realism, the film is perfectly balanced with a gently comic and bittersweet observation of the families and their relationships as they struggle through events from the mundane to the tragic. Personal loss, both of freedom and of loved ones, and the way life still manages to go on has been captured with deceptive ease and without resorting to the usual cliches and predictable attempts at closure that so often seem to pollute western cinema of this type.

The main issue with this movie is the viewer's knowledge of fairly recent Czech(oslovak) history, namely Prague Spring and subsequent Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia. Without this knowledge too much gets lost 'in translation' and I do not believe the movie can be fully enjoyed, understood, and felt.

It is a rich, deep, and extremely well-made movie that will make you laugh out loud as well as cry. It switches so easily and smoothly from deeply sad moments to moments of pure comedy without going over the board and without that Hollywood trademarked kitch-drama. To me, personally, as well as many of my acquaintances, watching this movie is pure joy.

Another one of Pelisky's many 'plusses' is the amazing soundtrack that consists of great Czech music from around the time period that it is trying to depict. Also, performance of all the actors is just about as good as it gets, especially the actors who play father Kraus (Kodet) and his daughter Jindriska, are simply outstanding.

Final advice: First, read up about Prague Spring and Russian invasion, as well as about Czech Christmas traditions and get a Czech friend to watch Pelisky with you and you will definitely not waste your time - it might turn into a completely amazing cultural experience inside your living room. Also, watch it more than one time - there's always something new you'll find - a new joke to laugh at, etc.

Now THAT is a Czech film. While Kolja, a 1996 Czech film was specifically edited by the British co-producers to strip it of some very Czech elements which were culturally hard to understand for foreign audiences, this one is the real thing. Figures that while Kolja was showered with foreign prizes incl. the Oscar, this one got nothing significant abroad as far as I am aware. No matter, this is a seriously funny and sad film which will tell you a lot about the Czech sense of humour. Many passages sadly won't be that accessible without knowing the culture and history well, and inevitably, lots gets lost in translation, but you may still find it satisfying.

i saw pelisky in 2000 at the international film festival in aukland, new zealand. almost 5 years later, having only seen the film that one time, i cannot forget how much i loved it. wonderfully funny and tragic, extremely well-acted, by far the best foreign language film in the festival. it was the the highest grossing czech film of the year at the czech box office, third only to titanic and kolya. unfortunately, i'm not sure if it made it into any American theatres and i have not been able to locate a copy since i returned home. if at all possible you get your hands on a copy of pelisky, i promise you will adore this film.