The Seven Ravens

An absolutely amazing fairy-tale that has more in common with The Cave of the Golden Rose than with The Three Veterans. Simply put, it is more of a fantasy flick than a fairy-tale.. and that was exactly what I loved so much about this movie. It doesn’t have the happy-go-lucky atmosphere of Czech fairy tales. Rather, it uses a kind of realism set in an original fantasy world with a pinch of the Middle Ages. That’s the way I like it, and I think this approach could work in the future as well. Add to that the picturesque landscape of the Tatra Mountains, but also of the castle Zvíkov, perfect cooperation between the Czech and Slovak crew, a beautiful score and actors, none of whom was bad in this flick. Quite the contrary. I even think that Issová put in an absolutely amazing performance… and she barely speaks in this one :-) A Czech fantasy fairy tale as good as they come. (30/11/2015)

I was a little frightened by the genre designation "Fantasy/Action/War", but fortunately it's a pure Czech film fairy tale in a classic style, which if it didn't turn into a fairy tale of a slightly different nature in the second half and didn't lose track of the first half, would become a modern classic movie for the (not only) Christmas time. This is "only" the best fairy tale of the last few years. (24/12/2015)

Definitely one of the better Czech fairy tales of the last few years. The acting and directing were very good, but the plot itself was not to my taste. I prefer more classic fantasy and fairy tale features. 6/10. (28/12/2021)

The long line of film fairy tales based on Božena Němcová’s works dates back to 1929. As the years passed, tastes, styles, and film narratives changed. Alice Nellis accepted the latest challenge and has created something new. Starring the sassy Martha Issová, the rather gloomy subject has given way to modern gags, and in other roles, we can also meet the uncharacteristically guided Remundová or Bydžovská. Among the princes, the pleasant Lukáš Příkazký and Václav Neužil tend to please. I wasn't sure at first, but when I compare it to the "better" ones by Svěrák or Troška, Nellis clearly wins. (20/09/2016)

Visuellement, c'est un joli conte de fées, mais j’ai beaucoup de réserves en ce qui concerne le contenu et le scénario. La première demi-heure m’a terriblement ennuyé, certaines scènes tirant en longueur ou ne servant à rien et, malheureusement, les temps morts se sont propagés sur tout le métrage. Je me souviens vaguement de l’ancienne version et du fait que je l’avais trouvée sombre et déprimante, ce qu’on ne peut pas dire de celle de Nellis – plutôt une bonne chose, à mon avis. L’un dans l’autre, c’est moyen. Et je me demande bien quand on verra un film de Nellis dans lequel ne jouera pas Zuzana Bydžovská. (22/12/2015)

Alice Nellis in top form. Sure, it still lacks that ultra-cool film look (I speculated how Agnieszka Holland would have handled it, for example) but all things considered, it still turned out the best it could. We really needed such an honest, natural, and completely professional adaptation of one of the best Czech classic fairy tales. Martha Issová is absolutely perfect here, the soundtrack is surprisingly really good, and it has a nice fantasy atmosphere. Bravo. [75%] (02/05/2021)