Őfelsége pincére voltam

The long hiatus certainly did not benefit Jiří Menzel, as all the feelings of a true artist drained out of him during that time. The only thing that remains is the skillful craft (he and cinematographer Jaromír Šofr create true wonders), which, however, desperately lacks energy in the form of authorial input and real emotions. The less than two hours are arranged in a self-effacing coat, through which Menzel wants to evoke a classic retro atmosphere and at the same time innovate a bit and get closer to the current trends (the terrible special effects in the form of flying stamps and money). Unfortunately, the result is disproportionate kitsch (although in several cases intentional). There was not much room for comedy n the tragicomic plot, and Menzel resigned himself to tragedy completely (except for the character of the chief Skřivánek in a phenomenal performance by Martin Huba). Ivan Barnev, in the lead role, fills in the concept of "commis waiter" to the last detail, while the philosophizing Oldřich Kaiser goes a bit outside the plot, despite the fact that he is its narrator. The rest of the cast simply floats through the story (except for the aforementioned Martin Huba), leaving us with nothing worth remembering, which is essentially how the entire film comes off. It’s a dry average that definitely doesn't show how much of a dream project it is. (2007.01.31)

Jiří Menzel made an artistic kitsch film, in every sense, including the negative ones. He lets the camera capture long shots that at first glance say nothing, and often there isn't much more to them on closer inspection either. He goes his own way, doesn't let himself be stopped, and maintains consistent Hrabal-esque poetics throughout. In the film, essentially nothing stands out above the rest, even though it could. In my opinion, it's precisely that poetic style that kills many truly powerful scenes. (2014.03.11)

I would understand and accept the fact that Jiří Menzel in his current form is not good enough for Hrabal's original. But only if I Served the King of England was a poetic, funny and cohesive film. But it is not. The cohesive narrative subject of Hrabal's novel was replaced by the miserable Barnev and the vain-saving Kaiser, leaving a tendentious and convulsive band of grotesque scenes from the wild gush of colorful stories, which Menzel cuts without interest, idea and poetics. The film runs idle most of the time and only Martin Huba, Milan Lasica, a few nice moments with Oldřich Kaiser and the introduction woke me from my lethargy. A film pulp was created from the excellent book stories, which combines ungainly shallowness, melancholy and political correctness. He changes the book template decently, but rarely for the benefit of the cause. As a person unfamiliar with the book, from the film version I would probably feel a confusing emptiness, but as a person who admires the original, there is almost pain in my soul. Unfortunately, Menzel is just getting old; the 80's are gone. It’s too bad that his retirement affected one of the best texts by Bohumil Hrabal. (2007.01.12)

Jiří Menzel has once again returned behind the camera to show another face of humanity. And yet he forgot that in his previous ventures, it worked because of honesty, not because a naive hero with a silly smile is pushing through a world of falsehood – only to eventually joyfully indulge in it. The director's pleasure in adapting clearly defined characters, which worked so perfectly in Cutting It Short, tragically fails when I Served the King of England starts to become an attempt at something more. It inevitably comes across sounding completely foolish. The Czechs are either cowards or hurt patriots, the Germans live only for their devotion to Hitler, and when the Victorious February arrives, the smiling communists can't go missing, since they want to divide everything among the people. What could be more half-hearted than these characters? In such moments, the last vestiges of a smile fade from your face, which was only there in the first place since in the absence of a proper story, the film is at least adorned with many attempts at "nice scenes from life". Unfortunately, there are too many passages where absolutely nothing happens and a group of cheerful, chubby gentlemen eagerly looks at a half-naked girl. So much so that Menzel's planned career peak occasionally becomes torture and proof that anyone can end up at the bottom of the quality barrel in Czech film. (2008.10.19)

The great return of the great Menzel. Jiří hasn't done much in the last 20 years, but when he has, it's been worth a look. Personally, I adore The End of Old Times and The Beggar's Opera, so I have no problem accepting I Served the King of England into this rank. He attracted well-deserved attention and reminded people in a poetic spirit that the period during Second World War was not black and white. For that alone, he deserves my thanks. This is because all the other essential ingredients like the setting and overall period believability were fulfilled to the max. Of the actors, I would particularly single out Huba and Dulava. (2009.02.18)