Directed by:
Jan HřebejkScreenplay:
Petr JarchovskýCinematography:
Jan MalířCast:
Miroslav Donutil, Jiří Kodet, Simona Stašová, Emília Vášáryová, Bolek Polívka, Jaroslav Dušek, Eva Holubová, Stella Zázvorková, Kristýna Badinková Nováková (more)VOD (1)
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This period comedy with biting undertones takes place on the eve of the 1968 Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia. It dramatizes the lives of two ideologically incompatible families living in the same apartment building and involuntarily sharing the same fate. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (6)
"Proletarians of all countries, fuck you!" –– I think this is undoubtedly the best movie in the history of Czech cinema ever. Just the fact that its perfect portrayal of the then atmosphere managed to pull at my heartstrings so much with its perfect charm that I even wanted to be able to travel back to the past, if only for a short while, speaks volumes. However, if we add to that the performance of a lifetime of Jiri Kodet (may he rest in peace), and the great acting performances in general, the brilliant screenplay full of memorable lines dropping out one after another, and Hrebejk's excellent direction, for me, Cosy Dens is a movie I can watch over and over again and still have an admiration for it. In addition to all that, the scene where Kodet plays the Czech national anthem gives me goosebumps every time.
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It's good to once again watch Cosy Dens. I notice now that the film has aged. We are only tempted by a shortened spectacle, which was an important piece of the mosaic of the Czech past, but not an absolute and definitive view of the mythologized events of the 1960s. So, what's left of it? Yes, that character solo by the beloved Kodet. But the story of the domestic tyrant is already very familiar to Czech culture.
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Cosy Dens is an immortal classic and one of the best post-revolutionary Czech films with many unforgettable lines and great acting performances. Many thanks to all involved for such a cleverly written film with a balanced amount of humour and drama. Even though I know the film almost by heart, it doesn't get boring and gives me something new every time I watch it again. Every scene is a treasure and every line is a gem!
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After 1989, quite a few films were made that tried to come to terms with the past, but if any succeeded, it was definitely Cozy Dens. It's a film that contains all the emotions you can have in a movie. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll feel nostalgia, you'll be glad you watched it because you'll realize it's a brilliant portrayal of the time and, above all, the people who lived in it.
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Together with Divided We Fall, it is the pinnacle of Jan Hřebejk's work. The story was well crafted by the screenwriter, about which most people who were there agree, that things more or less happened like that. In reality, it was just "more or less," as a lot of darker motives and the whole complexity of that time didn't make it into Hřebejk's film, but that doesn't matter at all, because Hřebejk proceeds just like the human brain does. He filters out the unpleasant or at least properly adjusts it. I don't think Cosy Dens is Hřebejk's best film, but it is definitely the most commercially successful and mainstream. It is a very professionally made comedic family film for all generations, and nothing significant can be criticized about it from a craftsmanship perspective. If the production of the majority of Czech films worked as professionally as this, Czech cinema would be truly thriving. I just don't feel like giving it a fifth star. Hřebejk doesn't have, and will never have, the creative courage to take risks and push the boundaries of cinematic art forward. Acting-wise, nothing needs to be said, as such a palette of stars is rarely seen in contemporary Czech cinema. Overall impression: 85%.
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