Directed by:
Marek NajbrtCinematography:
Miloslav HolmanComposer:
Midi LidiCast:
Jana Plodková, Marek Daniel, Richard Stanke, Jiří Ornest, Klára Melíšková, Tomáš Měcháček, Sandra Nováková, Martin Myšička, Simon Schwarz, Josef Polášek (more)Plots(1)
Emil Vrbata, a radio host, is in love with his wife Hana, pursuing together a life they enjoy. It's Prague 1939. Then comes war, and with it German occupation. To survive and protect his wife Emil chooses to collaborate. Ultimately that threatens to destroy the very thing he’s trying to protect: Hana. In dark times, a man can become a hero even if it’s the last thing he wants to do. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (11)
I don’t get it. Formally brilliant and complete (the harmony of music and image should serve as an example to other Czech films), and when listening to the dialogues you do not feel like someone is jamming a rusty corkscrew into your ear canal (even during the “I you love" expressions). When you are watching the story you feel that someone put some thought into it and presented to the viewer something that is noticeably missing. A plastic and non-hysterical image of succumbing to the magic of ideology, however primarily motivated by good intentions. A psychologically elaborate drama in which much more general features of the relationship between man and "history" are revealed on a protectorate backdrop. It's sarcastic, sophisticated and it has power. The image of riding a bicycle when watching it again is a phenomenally simple, and at the same time corresponding metaphor of any totalitarianism for me. Without the peddling man who seemingly has no influence on what is happening behind him, the illusion would not be perfect. Protector is a film that for years I have been longing for - mature, reflective, and it is free of Czech nonsense and stagnation. I forgive the mistakes. Love is blind.
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I have been complaining for a long time that Czech cinema has been avoiding letting skeletons out of the closet of local history, while our German neighbors have been tackling one historical blot after another. Plus, they almost always do this in an unforgettable way. And so I am really extremely grateful that somebody here has tried at last. That it remained just an attempt is another matter... It was clearly lacking any dramatic tension. Tension that was present in The Ear. Cut deep and not just skate about on the surface. Even so, this is a sufficiently high quality picture (the scenes with the bicycles, the scenes with the photo-shoot!) that withstands, despite its shortcomings. P.S.: The poster only makes sense with the opening line, which, while being original, I would say is a little counterproductive. And also I wonder whether the similarity of the story with the fates of Čeněk Šlégl was merely incidental or not.
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The best Czech film I've seen in years - and not just in the movie theater. There is not a single needless scene, and the direction, the superbly stylized and deliberately color-poor cinematography and the music complement each other perfectly. All this with likeable actors who really know how to act. I applaud and I will definitely go see it again. I hope as many people as possible do the same - this film shouldn't get lost. I give it a big chance at foreign festivals.
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Finally, a film that attempts to come to terms with the past in a fairly ordinary way. This gray film, where it seems like joy is missing, managed to achieve what The Butcher of Prague failed to. It's as if color isn't present here, plus there are excellent details that the film focuses on, enhancing the era, place, and events. One ordinary bike and what it can do. From time to time, interesting filmmaking techniques are used, which only make the film more intriguing in that it is a piece that can seriously grasp the past in a different, yet not bad, way.
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I can't say that I didn't like the movie outright, but I also can't say that I was enthusiastic about it in any way. In my opinion, it is a purely average film, and, due to the lack of funds and perhaps even the filmmaker's creativity, it feels more like a TV film. The theme of the Protectorate and the motive of the Jewish genocide contribute to this, but these concepts have been used many times in the past, and often better. All that is left for me is to sigh - if this is one of the most acclaimed post-November films and according to many enthusiastic comments even one of the peaks, then the state of Czech cinema is even more serious than I thought. Jana Plodková is interesting and unfamiliar, and her stylization of the character of a First Republic film star is quite convincing, but that is not enough for a great film experience. Overall impression: 60%.
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