Directed by:
Miroslav OndrušScreenplay:
Miroslav OndrušCinematography:
Martin ŠtrbaComposer:
Petr OstrouchovCast:
Ondřej Vetchý, Oldřich Kaiser, Igor Chmela, Marek Taclík, Lucie Šteflová, Ondřej Havel, Daniel Novák, Václav Neužil ml., Leoš Noha, Jiří Vyorálek (more)Plots(1)
A motionless male body (Ondrej Vetchy) is found on a deserted clearing by a forester (Oldrich Kaiser). He manages to revive the man, but he fails to remember anything, though. He doesn't know how he got in the forest nor why he's all covered in blood; instead of giving answers, he flees the place. The forester pursues him and grows to find out that the man in involved in a bloody vengeance he might have initiated himself and in which a major role is played by his fourteen-year-old daughter (Lucie Steflova). Apart from that there are four million crowns at stake, two bribed cops (Igor Chmela, Marek Taclik) and a trio of young men (Ondrej Havel, Daniel Novak, Vaclav Vostarek) with anything but clear conscience. On one day, during a few hours, one crime connects the stories of several people. Nothing is as simple as it seems, though, for the line between revenge and crime is very narrow. On one day, during a few hours, one revenge connects the stories of several people. Who's the murderer and who's the victim? Ondrej Vetchy and Oldrich Kaiser in a starry thriller that will get you engrossed. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (6)
I appreciate this project because, by Czech standards, it’s quite an innovative piece. The film aims to be groundbreaking in many aspects locally. The cinematography is excellent, and I liked the gray, grimy filter that gave the film a strong sense of pessimism and an atmosphere soaked with hopelessness. Ondřej Vetchý is unsurprisingly brilliant; the highlight of the film for me is the scene with the dictaphone in the remote forest cabin—it really delivered goosebumps. The story doesn’t offer much in the way of surprises, which is a shame. At least the ending was well-chosen; as a viewer, I was on the edge of my seat. The only thing that really lets the film down (and for me, significantly—it's a major reason why I can't give a higher rating) is the acting by the teenagers in the first quarter-hour. Such a poor performance felt more suited to bad TV shows. But it definitely earns a solid three stars. For me, it’s 6/10.
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A topic with great potential and excellent actors in the main roles. Outstanding camerawork and production design. But the end product flounders. The dad who wants to kill the three bastards that raped and killed his daughter doesn’t hesitate to pay big money for peace of mind. Understandably. Surprisingly, it’s like several key scenes that events seem to be heading toward are missing; it’s like they’ve been cut. In this respect, I don’t understand the director’s aim. A couple of lapses in logic remain, which seems to indicate that scenes were cut. Ondruš has the technical know-how, but has to grow in terms of storytelling. However, for a Czech movie, this is absolutely awesome, on a level with overseas films.
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Ugh. It would be tempting to say that Vendetta brings a fresh breeze to the somewhat stale meadows and groves of Czech cinema. But that wouldn't be true. Vendetta brings a real ruthless wind that smells of an approaching storm and a cloudburst. The direction of debutant Miroslav Ondruš is excellent and the cleverly narrated script makes the film look very dynamic from the first to the last minute (it seemed to me that the film lasted an hour), Ondřej Vetchý is incredible, Oldřich Kaiser is perfect, Petr Ostrouchov's "Morricone" music was a delight, and several scenes were very chilling... I would like to say more, but I can't at the moment.
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This intensely unimaginative use of the sure-fire “who-saw-knows” exploitation formula (stereotypes involving, in particular, the corruptness of cops and the rottenness of the young) suffers from an excess of locations, characters and unimportant information (whereas there is a lack of essential information). The film does not in any way go to the extreme required for it to be a straightforward over-the-top genre treat and every hint of toughness seems like posing. Thanks to the good actors (after the student-ish prelude, you will appreciate Vetchy’s overacting), I am at most willing to accept the film as a multi-level psychological game in which we have to reassess our opinion on who the students hunter is and who the victim is. But even then, I’m not sure if the director knew the rules. 40%
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What can I say? "MacGuffin" stretched out in the introduction for an hour, so when there's finally a twist, there's nothing left to do for the other half an hour. The fact that the characters run from place to place, exchanging unconnected catchphrases (which they often repeat), Vetchý cries, Justin Bieber runs through the woods, Mozart booms, and the whole thing culminates in a high school naïve point, and Jan Skácel... WTF? The characters have the psychology of a First Republic dream-book (with the exception of Chmela they are mostly apathetic or crying), the plot is illogical at key moments and interlaced with purposeful "roughness" (which, however, makes one laugh given its bower acting performance). A thriller is simply not done by explaining everything to the viewer at the beginning and then desperately trying to add something else. Why can't anyone reveal a single bit of the plot? Because Vendetta is so poorly constructed that a single clue tears down the entire structure. Try retelling the whole story. You can do it in one sentence, and it's going to be more than surreal. No, this is where genre films like Kajínek, Darkness or Nudity for Sale end up. Vendetta is the same case as Visible World - including the fact that Štrba's camera saves what it can (I didn't give it a Boo! rating just because of that)... P.S.: The young Hrubešová was good. She acts as well as Markéta, and if she turns toward the camera the next time she takes her clothes off, everything will be okay.
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