Čert vie prečo
Directed by:
Roman VávraCinematography:
Ramūnas GreičiusComposer:
Petr OstrouchovCast:
Táňa Pauhofová, Štěpán Kubišta, Csongor Kassai, Lubomír Kostelka, Ivan Shvedoff, Barbora Hrzánová, Eva Holubová, Iva Janžurová, Jan Unger, Pavel Marek (more)Plots(1)
In the land of King Dobromil honest labour, decency, honesty and respect among people has become a thing of the past. Instead the country is gradually succumbing to Hell's force and, thus, those who have some remnants of decency prefer to flee. Slightly befuddled herbalist Apollonia has a dream that the land is rescued by an unknown 'saviour' who arrives with on an ass and marries Annie, the king's daughter. But who will believe this mad herbalist with her 'magical' herbs that often cause more chaos than benefit? When things are at their worst in the country, the king signs his soul away to Hell and the Government is taken over by his base Minister. At this time there arrives in the Kingdom an inconspicuous happy dreamer Philip. When Apollonia sees him coming with an ass she is convinced that he is the right miraculous saviour. Nobody has an inkling that he is the Prince from the neighbouring Kingdom. And Philip really manages to save the land from Hell, but not through using any magical tricks but because of his genuine love for Annie, his courage, humour and, maybe also, a dose of cheek in standing up to the all-powerful Lucifer. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (2)
Nice camerawork and sets. The actors are also pleasant, with the exception of the king, who is more suited to wearing a butcher’s tunic. The screenplay and especially the directing seem overly routine, as if done out of obligation. And because of that, the film lacks what makes the old Czech fairy tales immortal: Heart.
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A good fairytale, very enjoyable, but again thanks to (this time without exception all of them) the actors, the direction, the sets and the music - not the script. I absolutely believe that Macourek's original was better, more thoughtful and at least made some sense.___P.S. Zuzana Navarová's final song is one of the best fairytale songs ever.
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