Láska je láska

Láska je láska ("Love Is Love") is (or at least wants to be) Czech answer to "Love Actually". There are several parallel story lines, loosely linked to each other. Although the film was released as romantic comedy, each storyline also deals with some heavy topic like blindness, Alzheimer, homophobia, racism or drugs and put it in very uncomfortable way. This was probably the reason why this film was not so successful as it should be due to its all-star cast and genre so loved by many Czech people.

I personally very like Aneta Krejcíková's subtle performance as blind girl and also Petr Nározný as her grandfather. Both their characters fall in love with someone. Grandfather meets his former classmate who just happens to be a drug dealer (very funny performance by Eliska Balzerová) and the blind girl meets boy who is gypsy (and don't tell her). Now, how we are supposed to root for the grandfather and his delayed little romance as we know the same man is a racist and antagonist in the other storyline?

In another storyline there is successful middle-aged woman who presumably loves his husband and son, but when she realizes her son is gay, what she's gonna do? Believe it or not, she send him to bordello with hope this will make him straight. And we are still supposed to like this silly woman just because Simona Stasová (very popular due to her another films) is portraying her? I don't think so. I'm not gonna spoil anything, but I must say moreover both these problematic story lines have very unsatisfying endings.

It's really a shame, because the film has some potential and it certainly still have some good laughs in it. I am terrified that some of the viewers outside of the Czech republic will see this film and they gonna think that all Czechs are homophobic idiots and racists.