Directed by:
Petr ZelenkaScreenplay:
Petr ZelenkaCinematography:
Miro GáborComposer:
Karel HolasCast:
Ivan Trojan, Zuzana Šulajová, Miroslav Krobot, Nina Divíšková, Karel Heřmánek, Petra Lustigová, Jiří Bartoška, Zuzana Bydžovská, Jana Hubinská, Jiří Bábek (more)Plots(1)
A black comedy based on director Petr Zelenka’s successful stage play. It treats a simple theme: Jana has left Petr, a boy ‘who’s not doing very well at the moment,’ and he wants her back. In a film in which love seems like madness (and vice versa) many bizarre things rise to the surface. Petr’s mother sends blood to Chechnya. His father once did voiceovers for newsreels and his wife forces him to dial a random telephone number in order to find out if people still recognize his voice. Petr’s boss prefers a shop window mannequin to his own vivacious wife, the neighbors enjoy sex only if someone is watching them, and Petr has such lovely eyes… When things in his apartment start to liven up, Petr feels like he’s going insane. Or is he the only normal one? Maybe everyone else around him is losing it… (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (6)
“I give Dad about one month, maybe less!" The most serious movie by Zelenka so far, but even so it is an excellent comedy spiced with a nice dose of tragedy and loneliness. The main storyline concerns the relationship between Petr and Jana, wrapped up in lots of completely separate scenes that relate to the main story to a greater or lesser degree. It all relies on the actors and they are excellent. Down to the very last one. But, thanks to being given enough space, Ivan Trojan as usual shines out above the rest, as does surprisingly Krobot too, in the role of his father. In places you can tell that this is an adaptation of a theatre play and therefore lots of things had to be altered or left out. This is primarily a shame in the storyline concerning Petr’s boss, Karel Heřmánek and his “relationship" with Eva, because the whole thing ends with loose ends. And the ending? For a Czech, post-revolution movie, the ending works unusually well.
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Zelenka screws the individual dialogues onto a simple plot but forgets that film is not theatre that can be convinced. In the world of moving pictures, the situations into which he sends his characters seem implausible and overly contrived. The (sub)genre notion of tragicomedy is fulfilled in none of them because the boiled hair, sexual voyeurism, and the romantic storyline itself lack a final point. The whole becomes just a boring, overly poser-like and wannabe farce, which when it finally ended after two hours, left on my tongue another of the many curses addressed to Czech cinema.
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Whether due to the cast, script, or the performances, I must say that this comedy stands above average Czech productions, and I give it four stars with a clear conscience. The theatrical inspiration is evident, but that's not essential. Ivan Trojan portrays his character very convincingly; after all, he has it well-trained from the theater stage. It's not an exceptional film, but a decent, relaxing comedy without awkward moments or cheap pandering. Overall impression: 70%.
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The most mature performance Ivan Trojan has ever given, Petr Zelenka without the need for empty exhibitionism or cheap dazzle, and the atmosphere that every Czech relationship film seeks – and where, in most cases, they fall short. Without the unnecessarily pretentious ending, this would be a brilliant movie.
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I’m afraid that Petr Zelenka intended this to be more viewer-friendly. And that the most likable character should have been the protagonist and not his father in a supporting role. The balance of tragedy and humor isn’t the most precise and many of the comedic scenes simply fizzle out. That said, however, Wrong Side Up is still a generally enjoyable probe into the madness of people during which you won’t be bored and in which you’ll find something of yourself.
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