In the Name of the King

For quite some time now, I have been wondering why high-budget movies set in Czech lands in the Middle Ages appear so scarcely in Czech cinema. I even know the author Vondruška and I read some of his books with joy. So, when I found out that this movie exists, it made me very happy that someone also thought of filming Czech history older than after the First Republic. But the result is a movie that’s cheap as chips, the ending being the cheapest of all. Not only is the final scene quite sloppy and disastrous, but the ending wascut so brutally short that it feels as if you’ve just listened to one of the stories of Oldřich from Chlum who had just solved a case at the castle and in the final scene, he’s mindlessly rushing into another case in the castle on the next hill over. I liked the movie, but it’s more of a pleasant introduction to an interesting historical TV series, which is what it was actually supposed to be in the first place. Too bad that it wasn’t. Personally, I’m disappointed and I’d love an explanation one day. Are these topics so unpopular and uninteresting in the Czech Republic that they do not pay off? Or does the problem lie in something else? Especially since the actors and the sceneries weren’t disappointing. What was it then? (08/07/2014)

A very bad joke. I had hoped that the names Petr Nikolaev and Karel Roden would guarantee a decent level. But what could one expect to film with a screenplay that we are more often used to seeing for humorous castle performances by historical fencing groups? The detective plot explicitly insults the gray brain cells, the dialogues are a pig dog between archaic stylization and the general Czech language, and the acting performances dither between embarrassment and lack of expression. Nikolaev did not save anything. Perhaps it wasn’t even possible. One star for the flawless Markéta Hrubešová, who was the only one who understood the assignment and did not suffer through the film. Her acting skills don't age, just like her lush cleavage... I boldly include the gesture of the ancient heroin at the end in the gallery of the worst shit I've ever seen. (26/05/2009)

I am satisfied with it. I looked forward to it, I saw it, and I liked it. That's it in a nutshell. It’s a very enjoyable medieval detective story, with beautiful costumes, landscapes, a believable medieval world, and particularly excellent light work. The music is nice and unobtrusive. The film features a great reunion between Martin Štěpánek and Jan Kanyza, which Czech cinema lacks. Dobrý and Roden are also good, and Issová, Hrubešová, and Pogodová are pleasant. The Czechs need more such films because this particular time period is suitable for Czech culture. (29/04/2011)

When one hears the expression "a classic detective story set in the Czech kingdom", one is quite lured in. But he mustn't expect too much. Or rather, he shouldn't have expected anything at all, because I was bracing myself for a mediocre spectacle, and the experience that In the Name of the King prepared for me ended up even worse. First of all, the boredom was omnipresent. The story is so simple that it has nothing to offer, and only the actors can save it. But that's not happening either. If Karel Roden and his tough guy character were annoying to me, then what about everyone else? Misery, serial acting, overacting, a minimum that is believable, maximum annoying. And the atmosphere? There is none. Yes, the cinematography was nice and the music was appropriately historical in places, but I still didn't believe any of it. I can't even take it as a mitigating circumstance that In the Name of the King brings something new to Czech film - unfortunately. It just goes to show that the Czechs used to be able to make historical films (the excellent Královský omyl, Honor and Glory, The Valley of the Bees, Spanilá jízda...), but we can't anymore. (03/01/2012)

L’histoire était déjà ma matière préférée à l’école primaire et je suis donc toujours partant pour regarder un film historique. Les critiques à son sujet n'étaient pas très enthousiastes, mais j'ai quand même voulu tenter le coup. Malheureusement, il ne suffit pas d’une flopée d’excellents acteurs tchèques et d’un réalisateur renommé pour garantir le succès. D’après moi, le maillon le plus faible est le scénario, ce qui m’étonne d’autant plus que son auteur n’est autre que le célèbre écrivain Vlastimil Vondruška, dont la série de romans policiers historiques occupe une place importante sur le marché littéraire tchèque. Certains dialogues sont véritablement ridicules et il est évident que les acteurs eux-mêmes ont dû s’en accommoder tant bien que mal. La ligne d’intrigue principale est particulièrement naïve, ce qui ne colle absolument pas à ma vision des histoires policières. Il n’y a pas le moindre suspense, pas l’once d’un retournement, pas de dénouement. Tout s’enchaîne linéairement devant les yeux du public. Ce n’est quand même pas un navet total, mais la place de ce film est à la télé, en aucun cas au cinéma. (25/11/2013)