Smyčka

Puppet theatre on the topic of pernicious communist power and its practices. In book form, Smyčka relied on the very solid potential of Pavel Kohout (although with great reservations, especially regarding the psychology of the characters), but in TV form it explicitly moans under the weight of Polesný’s diligent but convulsive direction. Another problem is the comparison of the young generation of actors with the old guard. It's not in any way flattering. Kavan and Válková act as a pair of grotesque youngsters in contrast to the economical and convincing acting of the Cossacks. Unfortunately, this repeats the flaw of the book, where the love plot serves explicitly as a prop. Regarding the information, it is an explicitly illustrative introduction to early Stalinism - neither exploratory nor authentic. Therefore, despite the truly excellent acting by Hanzlík, Preiss and others, it just another labor-intensive attempt at stony history. (2010.01.10)

It is true that Pavel Kohout is starting to become obsessed with totalitarian topics and it wouldn't hurt him to return to topics like Nápady svaté Kláry or Hodina tance a lásky. However, this TV adaptation with acting masters Preiss and Hanzlík caught my attention and I rate it very positively. (2010.01.10)