Cinematography:
Adam KrulišComposer:
Jonatán PastirčákCast:
Sabina Dlouhá, Anežka Pithartová, Tereza Těžká, Vít Klusák, Barbora Chalupová, Jan Vlček, Barbora Potužníková, Michaela Petriláková, Kateřina Kroupová (more)VOD (1)
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Everyone knows something like this is happening. But this is the only experiment to fully demonstrate what excessive openness on the internet means. The filmmaking couple hired youthful-looking (but over 18) actresses to pretend to be prepubescent girls and communicate with strangers who approached them based on their fake accounts. They attracted dozens of men in the first ten days, then hundreds, and finally thousands. The numbers of those looking for sexual satisfaction from the interactions are shocking. Most of the middle-aged men stopped at nothing to lure the supposed children into sending them photos or videos. And after weeks of online communication, there was even a personal meeting, held under the watchful eye of hidden bodyguards. What are sexual predators capable of? (One World)
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Reviews (10)
Although I still can't get rid of the impression that there was primarily calculation in Caught in the Net, but when the result is ultimately what it is, I can't even hold it against the creators. If the situation is really one that surprised parents (as well as documentary-makers) don't realize the danger lurking for children on the internet, they need not only to be told, but in fact shown. And it's a really ugly and disturbing spectacle, and in places very suggestive from my point of view. I take my hat off mainly to the trio of actresses, but it's too bad that Anežka Pithartová got probably the least space, because I think she “played" the best with the callers. Her seemingly innocent questions did not have the slightest chance of peeking through, but the viewer, who knows what is going on, could perhaps enjoy how refined the traps are and the hunting accuracy the actress places them.
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Clean marketing and filmmaking work. Klusák and Chalupová have delivered such an unpleasant, funny, understandable, simple and emotionally instructive title to overcome the traditional limitations of documentaries, which demand active cooperation and deeper empathy from the viewer. Like the "opening of a discussion" it's "cool ammo for memes and internet humor". It does not convey anything revolutionary and it does not discover anything stimulating, but it reliably draws you in, and perhaps it will lead to changes beyond the momentary event. The best moment of the documentary is the conclusion, which shows that mere "moral outrage" is not enough to humiliate the predator and drive him into a corner. That's the whole tragedy.
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Well, the fact that the Internet is full of predators and it should be clear to all parents that their spawn should be careful in these waters. Those who don’t get it had better not have children, as they’d clearly be useless in protecting them against external threat. But I felt much worse when I put myself in the shoes of a typical predator. Can't a guy show his dong to a hot twelve-year-old without having to worry about it being a nasty scam, with an entire film crew watching, and the girl actually being at least twenty years old? Ew, I'd feel like a gerontophile! But, on a more serious note; I don't mind when a film is disgusting, I’m not in the habit of avoiding porn (what a nice euphemism I came up with) but watching this didn’t make me feel easy at all. It was intense and hats off to all three "twelve-year-olds" for how they managed to bear it and the creator for a really worthwhile idea. A powerful experience and a clear five stars, I'm just not sure if some parents will realize that the fault is not only with those mental cripples...
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Caught In the Net will surely go down in the history of Czech documentary filmmaking (if it hasn’t already), because it deals with (how else) a very hot topic that I hope will not leave many viewers cold. Watching this straightforward probe into the virtual world of sexual predators, you will say WTF?! The makers and actresses definitely deserve a big thank you for their courage to tackle such an issue and translate it to the screen in an appealing and instructive way. In the course of a hundred minutes, you encounters all sorts of individuals, from perfectly harmless people to utter moral scum without a shred of empathy or judgement. I hope that the message of this bold undertaking will not go to waste and will make many people think.
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The Czech event of the year, which should probably be seen by everyone, although only parents and grandparents will be shocked by it. Caught In the Net is a documentary with a good idea presented in a form that doesn't bore, so even people who don't watch documentaries should give it chance. It focuses on three young girls with childlike features that make them look 12 years old as they explore the darkness of social networking sites full of sexual predators. But it is Tereza Těžka who gets most of the attention, giving the most believable performance of all (the final 20 minutes are very gripping and emotional). I wonder if Caught In the Net will be shown compulsorily at schools one day. Story****, Action>No, Humor***, Violence>No, Entertainment****, Music**, Visual**, Atmosphere****, Suspense***. 8/10.
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