The One Who Loved You

The series director Pachl (and a fan of Hynek Čermák) remade the book of the same name by Marie Poledňáková in his own way. The result is a little bit of this and a little bit of something else, a combination of a Czech gangster film, a family comedy, Randall and Hopkirk... in the style of Life is Life. Also, the whole mixture is framed by the Christmas atmosphere. An acceptable affair for an undemanding audience. (07/08/2021)

The opening credits gave me an accurate idea of what to expect in the following few minutes. I have given both of Jan Pachl's previous films a rating of four, so I am even more confused as to how he could be behind something that could be described as a combination of the films Jak ukrást Dagmaru and Buldoci a třešně. From the film synopsis, I understood that one of the key characters would be an astral policeman, but when I asked myself what purpose the ghost served, I realized he was utterly pointless. The story was a complete disaster; the characters were insane, and the quality of dialogue corresponded to the characters. If a comedy makes me cringe instead of making me laugh, then something is clearly wrong. But I did find something to amuse myself; I sprayed my monitor when Hynek Čermák appeared on the screen for the first time. That was something. Otherwise, it was an absolute misery, which even included an immaculate birth, and the only mystery for me is that I have no idea where Irina's rose disappeared during the funeral. / Lesson learned: If you want to deliver devastating news to someone, do it on the stairs, the edge of a steep cliff, or another comfortable place. (10/03/2023)

Jan Pachl became famous for his great and appropriately gloomy crime movies and series only to jump into a totally different genre and attempt to film a family comedy, what’s more based on a book written by Marie Poledňáková. I don’t know if it was his idea or if he was forced into it by his sponsors, but the overacting that ordinarily works in comedies in theater can never work in a movie. How is it possible that such movies are still made in my country? The only positive thing about this movie is its Christmas atmosphere, it’s been a long time since I saw so much snow in one place. And Eva Holubová. (22/07/2020)

At first I was worried that I might have to wade through garbage again. Fortunately, that didn't happen. Even though this is all a bit slap dash, it's not a complete mess. Some of the jokes teeter on the edge of awkwardness, but I was quite amused by the hairy bearded Hynek Čermák or the shaggy Pavel Řezníček. And for example Lukáš Vaculík played that pesky slimeball really well. Despite what you might expect, the Christmas atmosphere in Jan Pachl's movie it cannot be denied. (45%) (02/12/2022)