"The Elementary School", chosen by Czech audiences as their greatest film, is proof that countries can rarely be trusted when it comes to deciding such things. One suspects it is beloved in its own country not because it is a particularly great movie, but because it depicts a country that no longer exists (Czechoslovakia) - and perhaps never existed in the first place.
The main character, Eda, is a mischievous tyke whose terribly behaved class sends his teacher crazy. She is replaced by a war hero who introduces corporal punishment, and with it, respect and admiration.
Eda should be carrying the movie, but never emerges as a character in his own right. Isn't the movie supposed to be seen through his eyes? The camera supersedes him.
The cast of characters is the typical group of kooky eccentrics, though again, few make much of an impression.
The movie needed to get down to Eda's level. Instead it hovers around him, showing everything bathed in suspicious gold, not letting us get close enough to doubt the idea that life wasn't better back then.
The main character, Eda, is a mischievous tyke whose terribly behaved class sends his teacher crazy. She is replaced by a war hero who introduces corporal punishment, and with it, respect and admiration.
Eda should be carrying the movie, but never emerges as a character in his own right. Isn't the movie supposed to be seen through his eyes? The camera supersedes him.
The cast of characters is the typical group of kooky eccentrics, though again, few make much of an impression.
The movie needed to get down to Eda's level. Instead it hovers around him, showing everything bathed in suspicious gold, not letting us get close enough to doubt the idea that life wasn't better back then.