Grapes

Considering how the second part is complete nonsense without any ideas, the first part works well, and the characters haven't yet become so opposed to each other. True, 50% of the success is mainly wine and Moravia; the rest is taken care of by the actors and a fairly decent screenplay. I have fond memories of Grapes, although I try to forget about the sequel. The dramatic story works quite well here, but in the end, what really sticks in your memory is the wine. (12/23/2013)

An unexpected trip to a place where I felt so good as a viewer. Tomáš Bařina sent me so much optimism that I drew from it for several weeks. I enjoyed myself, admired, dreamed, and maybe three times I was so absorbed that I didn't believe my own senses. I won't need wine for the rest of my life, but here I maybe felt like opening it for the first time. At one time, a promise of hope not only for the summer but also for Czech comedy. It is such a pity that we see so little of this accurate judgment. (04/02/2008)

I wouldn't mind at all if this had been a milestone between what Czech film has been and will be. I'm just tired of watching those bitter comedies, I don't want to watch the plight of ordinary people when it's handled the same way over and over again. Fine, this is not a work of art; but it's not a typical American comedy, either. It's an interesting film. It's a movie where everyone’s always drinking. It's a movie with lots of shots of Moravia. I didn't even know there was anything that nice in our country. So I guess I'm grateful for that. It's not a movie I'll remember days later. On the contrary, after a couple of hours I've forgotten it. Still, I think it's a stepping stone. Nothing that was, nothing that will be. Maybe it’s the sign of a change. Or maybe not; I'm clapping my liver. Without wine. (03/04/2009)

I was sick and tired of the constant repetitive jokes about people from Prague (and I'm not from there myself). I didn't even get a proper dose of humor that I expect of a comedy. It made me smile a few times, but my sides remained unsplit. The film’s main assets were definitely Kryštof Hádek, whom I would find convincing even as a scam artist, and Tereza Voříšková, whose cracked voice makes the rest of my functioning nerve endings shiver. (05/04/2020)

Grapes is an absolutely typical example of the fact that a relatively decent film, one that is nothing special, but still functional, is considered a great success in the Czech Republic. Which is absolutely tragic. Instead of everyone being happy that one quite acceptable summer film has been made, we have to watch miserably as the original modest idea turns into a not-very-successful trilogy full of nonsense and kitsch. That’s too bad, because the first film from Bařina was interesting at least in its individual aspects. But the attempt to continue the new tradition of post-revolutionary summer hits in the style of The Ride seems to be a bit beyond the capabilities of the current creators. (08/21/2020)