ludvo

I understand the bad reviews. I don't agree with them, but I understand. Some things just don't translate well into other cultures (and I'm not talking about linguistics).

Morozko is an absolute classic in Czech Republic and Slovakia. Basically, you can't have Christmas without Morozko. I remember decorating the Christmas tree every year while watching Morozko in TV as a kid. Now I'm looking forward to decorating the Christmas tree with my kids while watching Morozko. The old Soviet-era generation, the revolutionary generation, the millennials - everyone loves this movie.

However, it is a fairy tale based on Slavic history, folklore and mythology, made by Slavs for Slavs. I think that in this case, the cultural differences are simply too big for the western viewers to understand and appreciate this movie. I haven't seen the English version, but I think the translation probably doesn't help either.

My advice: Try to watch it with an open mind, try to understand the culture behind it and realize that fairy tales around the world are usually different from Disney movies.

And by breathtaking I mean literally breathtaking - while watching this movie, from time to time, especially during the last 30 or so minutes, you will realize that you are not breathing. I don't know what else to say, everything has already been said in other reviews.

Naturally, I've heard about this movie before, I knew that it was the only Slovak movie to ever win an Oscar, I've read the reviews, but I was a bit hesitant to watch it because I know how badly many of the great old movies age and I didn't want to be disappointed.

Well, I wasn't. This movie didn't age well, this movie simply doesn't age at all. The reason for this is that it deals with an eternal internal conflict in all humans - a conflict between what is good for me and what is moral. And what is "good" anyway? What is "moral"? What is the right thing to do? Is it always right to do the right thing? Is it always wrong to do the wrong thing? Where is the balance? Is there a balance? The main protagonist keeps asking these questions until it is too late. And most of all, he forces you to keep asking these questions yourself. You will keep asking yourself these questions long after watching this movie. And the only answer you will be able to come up with is "I don't know! I don't want to answer!" Just like Tono Brtko didn't want to answer them.

It is a story of an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances. A story of an ordinary man being forced to make a decision that no one wants to make. A decision that makes you choose between two wrong outcomes.

The acting is simply perfect, there is no other word to describe it. Kaminska is perfect, Kroner is perfect and they are both perfect together. If there was an Oscar awarded for the best chemistry between two main protagonists, these two would definitely win it (and to this day I haven't seen any duo perform better).

The final dream sequence is the best dream sequence I have ever seen in a movie, especially if you notice all the symbolism. It shows the contrast between what is and what could be. Between what podiums and uniforms are used for and what they could be used for. And ultimately, a contrast between the good in each and every one of us and the evil in each and every one of us.

Watch this movie and you will never forget it. Trust me.

There were many movies that I really wanted to review but this is the one that has finally forced me to register.

Perinbaba is a cult film in Slovakia (and Czech Republic to some extent). It is broadcasted every year during Christmas holidays, everyone knows it and everyone has seen it and rightfully so. The director, Juraj Jakubisko, is very artistic - too artistic actually, most of his movies are simply too allegorical for most of the viewers to enjoy. But for some reason, when it comes to this fairy tale, it works perfectly.

Well, it is a fairy tale only on paper. And I viewed it as a fairy tale when I was a kid (and I enjoyed it very much). But once you become an adult, you start to notice all the metaphors and allegories in this movie and you begin to enjoy it even more.

As a kid, you watch this movie and you see a fairy tale about a young boy falling in love and pursuing that love, despite having to face many obstacles in order to do so. As an adult, you see a very real, hidden story of a man coming of age, a story of love, sex, greed, lust, death...

A young boy, Jakub, sheltered from the world by the motherly figure Perinbaba escapes his "mother's nest" despite her efforts to keep him protected forever. He does it for a girl, Alžbetka, and he is forced to face the real world. An world full of evil, sadness, even Death herself. And a world full of beauty, beauty that is worth all the suffering.

It is not a typical fairy tale. Yes, it has some aspects of a fairy tale, but in some aspects it is also a horror movie, it is a very sexual movie (though this is cleverly hidden from the younger audiences, maybe even most of the adult audiences) and most of all, it is a movie about every man's journey from childhood to adulthood. The Slovak folklore, culture, mentality and the style of Jakubisko might make it a bit hard to understand and fully appreciate for foreign viewers, but you should give it a try nevertheless.

I am very tempted to say 10/10, but OK, 9/10 (just to leave 10/10 for really PERFECT movies).