All My Compatriots

A great film that, considering the time it was made, surprisingly and critically depicts life in the countryside and the relationships that existed there. It's very evident in the film that there was a long preparation before filming, and it paid off. You're interested in the fates of individual characters, and although Radek Brzobohatý's name is most frequently mentioned in connection with the film, Vladimir Menšík completely captivated me. (02/10/2015)

An admirable trip into Czech history, to the times when the communist regime cast its nets into the social system and divided people into two opposing groups. All My Compatriots is the story of people who were affected by the rise of communism, both negatively and positively. The film offers wonderful cinematography and beautiful music alongside a look at the unfortunate fate of the inhabitants of one village. In short, one of the rarest gems of Czech cinema, with Radoslav Brzobohatý and Vladimir Menšík showing their best acting skills. (03/07/2011)

A poetic, dramatic and comedic look back at how we not only were, but unfortunately how we still are and probably will continue to be. Vojtěch Jasný seems to have decided to juxtapose the simple beauty of nature and the complex relationships between people who live and die in this splendor. With the help of actors, non-actors, a script that really feels like an adapted municipal chronicle, the camera and the versatile music of one of our geniuses Svatopluk Havelka, he managed to create a film that still has a great testimonial value after more than fifty years and which I always enjoy watching. (01/29/2012)

It is not so much the uncontrolled recklessness of nationalization, but rather the concentrated nature of the little Czech man in the form of a Beskydy village that becomes the subject of criticism (but also celebration) in this epic fresco by Jasný. A third of the way through it takes away your words, then your breath, and finally, your superlatives. I have never experienced such huge applause from such a small number of people in the movie theater. (06/07/2007)

A classic that I was afraid to watch for a very long time (completely unnecessarily, as it happens). There is no celebration of the rural spirit of life; there is only the honesty of how a one-of-a-kind sort of stubbornness can prove an asset for some, and evokes an almost surprisingly sad expression on the viewer's face. Thanks to the archetypal characters of the imposing František or the bohemian Zášinek, Vojtěch Jasný goes right to the heart of the matter and the few unnecessary parables that don't exactly land do not hinder him one bit. (07/20/2012)