School Is the Foundation of Life

I've seen the theater version as well, and this story is just great. It's a comedy and it has a happy ending. I never quite saw this story as an outright comedy either because the critique of the educational system and how teachers approach teaching is just so good that sometimes it sends chills down your spine. But some of the comedic performances are really great. (02/07/2015)

A pleasant "student" classic that can entertain willingly (excellent script and great acting) - even unintentionally (cute naivety of some scenes and replicas, dubious age of the main actors). It's interesting how much this light satire retains its validity in certain aspects... And above all, it can still make the audience laugh. If it weren't for the stupid final run and the immortal gnaw of "we'll keep running forward" (apparently implanted later), it would be the perfect comedy... (04/25/2004)

For the last few years, I've been amused mainly by how many thousands of reviews this particular film is getting. Otherwise, it absolutely stands out in the awareness of the entire classic era of Czech cinema and overshadows all the otherwise supposed highlights like Christian or Eva swaggering with stupidity. (02/16/2009)

Basically the same applies here as I wrote in Journey into the Depth of the Student's Soul: a golden gem of Czechoslovak pre-war cinema that has lost none of its brilliance and wit even after almost 80 years. The German and Latin classes in particular are amazing! (06/22/2012)