Most of the most popular films in the Czech Republic are comedies. But this gritty thriller has also managed to garner critical acclaim. On the one hand, this is due to the clearly recognizable characters and the gripping story, but also to the excellent play of the ensemble with impressive acting performances right down to the supporting characters.

But it seems reasonable to assume that this film also struck a chord with those who had experienced the paralyzing period of "normalization" and the mildew of the 1980s, because it doesn't - as so often - portrays them superficially in the usual clichés , but profoundly shows the very different struggle of people with the system and with themselves in a comprehensible way.

You won't leave the cinema in a good mood after this film, that's for sure. This is not only due to the portrayal of the hopelessness in the totalitarian system, but also to the relentlessly exposed human weaknesses, mistakes and dark sides of all (male) protagonists. Ultimately, the convinced Stasi man fails because of this realization. On the other hand - in recognition of these weaknesses - one will perhaps think a little more differentiated about the different behavior of people in totalitarian systems.

The musical accompaniment to the film is also something special. There is a video (see adjacent) for the title music by the band WWW (for which it is worth watching the entire credits), which reflects the dark mood of the film very well and is well suited as a trailer (including film excerpts).

(This is an automatic translation by Google Translator.)

CZ 2009, 140 min, OmdU

Directed by Radim Špacek

Actors: Ondřej Malý, Kristína Farkašová-Tormová, Luboš Veselý, Lukáš Latinák, Oldřich Kaiser, Ivana Uhlířová, Martin Finger, Roman Zach

(This is an automatic translation by Google Translator.)