Like Never Before

A toned down picture which paradoxically would have benefitted from being even more toned down and primarily less shallow. Departure, the true face of love, father-son relationship... It bites into many themes. But most of them stop at that bite, however juicy these themes are. But I would have welcomed fewer mouthfuls, but more substantial. Not introducing more and more characters as the movie advances and naively addressing timeless themes, but to sticking with the untraditional Karla - Vlada - Jaruna relationship triangle would have been more than enough. (16/09/2013)

Profound thoughts twisted by bizarre psychology and a promisingly provocative topic destroyed by questionable acting performances. No disrespect to Jiří Schmitzer or Petra Špalková, who literally work themselves to the bone, but when two shrilly alienating scenes overshadow one honestly delivered scene, I don't have much to draw on. Producer Ondřej Trojan was quotes as saying after the screening that they managed to create something hard to find in Czech cinema, but there is a lot of it at international festivals – a well-made drama about death and dying. That said, if there was anything of that to be found in the dozens of unnecessarily tiresome shots of glasses, wheels, and landscapes, I certainly didn't find it. (16/09/2013)

Zdeněk Tyc and other encounters with depression, death, individualism, strong acting performances, and very interesting dialogues. Indeed, the etudes of Špalková and Medvecká often resemble a staged theatrical duet, while Schmitzer just exists through the role, and the ending is truly a full-fledged catharsis. So we could actually find Zdeněk? The paths of his career are indeed winding. (01/08/2015)

Un drame psychologique, qui est une plongée difficile à digérer dans les processus de pensée des personnages, leurs relations, leurs motivations et leurs conflits. Les performances exceptionnelles des acteurs Petra Špalková, Jiří Schmitzer et Taťjana Medvecká se marient parfaitement avec le formidable scénario de l'auteure débutante et la mise en scène précise de Zdeněk Tyc, qui a clairement réussi à réaliser sa vision de manière intransigeante. Les personnages sont exceptionnellement bien écrits et les dialogues intelligents. Comme jamais auparavant, ce film tchèque est d'une qualité exceptionnelle. (04/07/2014)

Jako nikdy (« Comme jamais auparavant ») mérite d’être vu par un plus grand nombre que juste trois mille spectateurs. C’est un drame psychologique intimiste balaise dans lequel se démarque Jiří Schmitzer, lequel colle magnifiquement au rôle. La question de savoir si Petra Špalková est meilleure que Táňa Pauhofová est sujette à débat et c’est avant tout une question subjective. J’espère que c’était serré. Les films comme celui-ci ne courent pas les rues et c’est pourquoi il aurait tout à gagner d’une meilleure promotion. Reste à savoir si le public tchèque est mûr pour aller voir un tel film au cinéma… (24/02/2014)

Great performances by the main trio, but unfortunately they don't lead anywhere. It's like the film wanted to say a lot about life and death, but in the end it only half-heartedly touched on the subject and didn't say almost anything. It's a pity because it's well directed, with interesting scenes, but you will still feel like it didn't give you much. (24/05/2016)