Svatba jako řemen

When a tragicomic portrayal of Czech smallness unfolds, it’s best done with bare sentences. The double entendre of the inexperienced guys from the National Security Corps ("I am beside myself"), the demands of bewildered party members ("I demand clarity"), cheap resolve ("I’ll find my beam"), reproachful threats ("Don’t make me talk"), and stopping citizen resistance, where the emphasis is on the length of the chain "Well, what, what, what." While the Prague pre-spring and spring deserved a safe for Pavel Landovský's sake and certainly for the somewhat "coded" discrediting of various authorities, now its doors might slightly open due to the trivialization of sexual violence. But why censor, when this is how we Czechs were and many still are? Just look at us... Among all the actors and non-actors, Hrzán stood out for me, as if he were about to collapse at any second. (08.12.2023)

During the first fifty minutes I had a very good time with the parade of all the characters and their verbal shoot-outs, but after arriving at the wedding I was screaming with laughter. Vladimir "What, what, what?" Pucholt and Jan Vostrčil as SNB officers posing as friends of the desperately collapsing Jiří Hrzán, František Filipovský as a father with (self-)homicidal tendencies, the flawless Iva Janžurová, who was also very pretty, small and larger characters brilliantly portrayed by Pavel Landovský, Josef Hlinomaz, Jan Libíček, Ilja Prachař, Jiří Lír and others... In addition, Mahler's and Krejčík's cleverly witty script (they were not afraid of poking fun at the state apparatus - well, such was the time), literally relaxed direction, Liška's exuberant music... Three and a half stars. (22.02.2012)

In its time, this film represented a significant milestone in testing the boundaries of artistic and social freedom in Czechoslovakia. Seemingly a popular farce about a disillusioned drunken saleswoman, two horny men, and a failed attempt at rape, it is full of clever innuendos, references, and jokes at the expense of the regime at that time. A slimy party official who won't leave any woman alone, two members of the secret police who can twist the law as needed and aren't concerned with human rights, a wedding without a groom, lots of punchlines, and comedic characters together create an entertaining cocktail that doesn't lose its charm even years later. Along with Higher Principle, this film is probably the highest quality part of Krejčík's filmography. The presence of Pucholt and Vostrčil reminds one of the works of Miloš Forman, or at least both directors share their ability to use the awkwardness of ordinary people and make fun of their imperfections. Overall impression: 90%. (17.01.2014)

When it comes to this movie, I probably missed a bit more of a detached view that only Miloš Forman knows how to film. But I don’t want to claim that it’s a shame Forman didn’t get to do this movie. Because on the other hand, I can’t say that I wasn’t having fun. This movie is an excellent comedy, absolutely typical for Czech people. We can make fun of the most serious of topics… and what’s worse, the entire nation laughs about them. So why couldn’t we laugh at a rape? Now I know how Czech people are going to react when a young girl comes running, calmly claiming that she’s been raped. If the case gets at least a bit crazy, about a tenth of people will cry about it and the rest will turn to the internet with the blackest humor possible that will speak to us all. They managed to do the same with our government, with our president (especially with him), so why not rape? The Czech nature is probably not so easily understood… (28.06.2013)