Revival

I like the way the authors took on that movie. I must thank them, not only for the amazing casting, but for the Darkwerk ideas. Polívka, Krobot, Heřmánek and Geišberg make up for an amazing Revival basis. And Jenovéfa Boková has assured me that she’s getting prettier to look at with her every next movie. If only the sincerity in her eyes stayed as long as possible and didn’t get replaced by some other, usually negative trait that comes with fame. In any case, I must also praise Genzer. I don’t see him in movies very often, but the role of the music promoter was done really well. It’s pretty clear that these people are vultures out for money. But it’s a priceless experience to see their doings on the screen like that. Now there’s a third step left – seeing this person live. I think that my life would be complete and I could die happy. However, all of this overshadows the otherwise quite average script. And that’s why I’m rating this four stars. And even despite the fact that I’ve recently seen a much older and much more interesting British movie on a similar – if not identical – topic: Still Crazy. But I’m keeping it at four stars, especially thanks to the actors who made me very happy. (28/03/2014)

I'm not exactly a fan of Alice Nellis, but her work is very helpful in offering something different to contemporary Czech cinema, so let’s let her go on with her experiments. Revival uses a slightly different genre. No, I don't have a fit of happiness every time Krobot performs, but all those etudes by the deserving Polívka and Heřmánek made me very happy. (19/08/2014)

I didn't want to laugh at the fact that Karel Heřmánek's character lets himself be led around by a slimy manager, lies to his friends for money and his own selfishness, and simply behaves like a first-class bastard. Unfortunately, I have the nagging feeling that the script counted on the fact that these moments with the rehearsal of the coma, lying and so on would be successful and that Heřmánek's keyboard player would actually be a sympathetic character. He's not. If it weren't for Boleslav Polívka and Miroslav Krobot, who turned out to be an excellent duo, Revival would have lacked all the humanity, the nostalgic tears of remembering the old black and white times - that which I was waiting for the most. Otherwise, the film is unfortunately one big advertisement, and it probably promotes Vojtěch Dyk and his band the most, something that doesn't need promotion at all. There aren't many truly funny parts (and when there are, they are the responsibility of Polívka and Krobot), the character of the blind drummer is really annoying, and Zuzana Bydžovská is also quite over the top with her paraphrase of Yoko Ono (I'd rather not even mention her last scene). Two and a half stars, average. Quite a shame. And the best line (by Bolek Polívka) was: "I wouldn't go see us." (15/08/2013)

Une très agréable surprise. Une comédie réussie avec des nuances fonctionnelles sérieuses, abordée avec de la distance, un scénario intelligent, une réalisation habile et des performances d'acteurs de qualité qui créent une expérience qui rare dans le cinéma tchèque. (06/07/2013)

Les comédies musicales ne courent pas les rues en République tchèque, donc je remercie chaudement Alice Nellis pour avoir tenté le coup. En plus, j’ai passé un excellent moment, le quatuor soutenu par Genzer et Jenovéfa étant absolument convaincant et, pour ne rien gâcher, le tout étant emballé avec un parfum doux-amer, ma combinaison préférée. Une œuvre particulièrement réussie qui constitue d’après moi le deuxième meilleur film d’Alice Nellis à côté de l’inégalable Tajnosti (« Secrets »). (05/02/2014)

Nice Czech comedy that relies heavily on the fact that four actors in the lead roles as musicians can handle it. And they do. True, with the help of the younger ones, but they still manage to arouse nostalgia in the audience. And I simply enjoy this nostalgia. It's a shame there wasn't a little more music because it was quite good. (10/10/2014)