Borders of Love

Borders of Love is banality that’s precise in dialogue and authentic in acting, with one casting surprise. From the first moment, you figure out where it will go and that’s exactly where it goes and ends up. (23/07/2022)

Formally, it is an interesting conversational film, but unfortunately, the work with the main topic is written very amateurishly. Instead of a real study of situations that the world of open relationships, swingers, and associated emotions may offer, there are a lot of clichés, whether in the view of introducing the issue by one sexually aggressive couple (of course, the alpha male is played by Martin Hofmann), through the presentation of an apparently polyamorous polycule (headed, of course, by Hynek Čermák...) to the typically simplified reactions to the given situations. Hana Vagnerová plays Hana, who dares to discover her sexuality with mutual agreement, her partner is Petr played by Matyáš Řezníček, who does the same until the moment when his partner confesses that she experienced something new with another man. The vain Petr cannot handle this, but at the same time allows Hana to continue with her experiments. While Hana still invites Petr on further adventures, Petr grows disgusted by Hana and finds a new closed relationship. It couldn't be more cliché. The film's promotion almost promised full-length porn, but Tomasz Wiński only made a typical chauvinistic anecdote. (11/01/2024)

Ce film me laisse perplexe. Je n’ai pas envie de l’encenser artificiellement en disant, comme on l’entend souvent, que « pour un film tchèque, c’est pas mal », mais pourtant, il n’y a pas d’autres mots. Je trouve le manifeste de Wińský et Cie très pertinent et je le rejoins sur de très nombreux points. En même temps, les créateurs y disent qu’ils ne considèrent pas leurs œuvres comme parfaites et ça, je tiens à le souligner. Je ne peux m'empêcher de penser que le scénario minimise les problèmes présentés de manière outrageuse et que l’histoire est simpliste. Hranice lásky (Borders of Love) est en fait un film pour lequel j'aurais pu imaginer une vingtaine de minutes supplémentaires, une boucle narrative de plus, une gâterie supplémentaire pour le spectateur, mais malheureusement, il n’apporte rien de tel. Je le recommande quand même en tant que film tchèque, sachant qu'il se démarque nettement de la plupart des productions actuelles. [KVIFF 2022] (22/07/2022)

Un thème original capturé de façon peut-être un peu trop pudique, mais chacun jugera pour lui-même. Je suis content qu’un tel film ait pu voir le jour dans notre contexte, d’autant qu’il a apparemment fallu y mettre beaucoup de temps et d’efforts. Une chose qui a peut-être contribué à la réussite du film, c’est que le réalisateur n’est pas tchèque, ce qui s’est révélé être le cas également par le passé pour d’autres films ayant fait leurs preuves. Enfin, j’apprécie l’humour qui se dévoile dans quelques scènes et qui n’est ni désobligeant, ni pathétique, mais au contraire, bien tapé. (02/11/2022)

After the initial four minutes, I had an intense feeling that there were enough sounds in the film for a pornographic movie, while the visuals were significantly lacking in this regard. There was too much of both for a drama, though. I gave up all hope and prepared myself to write a negative review, but the creators surprised me with this slightly bizarre spectacle, which gradually began entertaining me. The film had a high-quality cast. I always enjoy seeing Martin Hofmann and Hynek Čermák. I also like redheads with freckles, and Matyáš Řezníček portrayed Petr convincingly enough. So, the only thing that bothered me was Eliska Křenková, who had a bland expression, and Captain Antonie Formanová, who didn't seem to be acting. The long, pathetic dialogue between Antonie and Petr made me decrease the number of stars. It was nothing special, but it could have been above average if the director had handled the situation better. / Lesson learned: If you have a fragile psyche, don't get involved in anything major. 2+ (12/04/2023)

Few people managed to make a drama about intimacy, cohabitation and the depth of a relationship. And here, unexpectedly, it's been done very nicely. Sometimes witty lines occur that allow you to take a moment to breathe in the rush of emotion. I'm glad the entire creative team decided to work hard on the film because it just shows. I was a little concerned about the way the main characters filmed everything on their cell phones, because it would have been wonderful without it. Overall, it's a good film that I'm sure a lot of people will go to the cinema to see. (06/07/2022)