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Autumn Spring 2001 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Vladimír Michálek
PG-13, 95 min. (language) |
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Starring: Vlastimil Brodský, Stella Zázvorková, Stanislav Zindulka, Ondrej Vetchý
Producers: Jirí Bartoska, Jaroslav Boucek, Jaroslav Kucera
Screenplay: Jirí Hubac
Cinematography: Martin Strba
Distributor: First Look Pictures Releasing
Released: 8.22.03 (Limited)
(In Czech with subtitles) |
Rating:
 (out of ) |
Autumn Spring espouses the conundrum facing people of advancing age - accept their approaching demise with gloomy
surrender or simply ignore it by living life as if they were still young. Frantisek (Vlastimil Brodský) has taken the
latter approach, laughing in the face of death by living his waning years by throwing caution to the wind. He, with the help of
a loyal sidekick and best friend, Ed (Stanislav Zindulka), likes to play elaborate pranks on others, ranging from the
relatively harmless - posing as a ticket-taker in a Prague subway in order to garner kisses from women in exchange for
free rides - to the expensive - a con game in which he plays a wealthy maestro with his trusty assistant, taking advantage
of greedy real estate agents who show them opulent mansions with no intention to buy. Czech director Vladimír Michálek
and his screenwriter, Jirí Hubac, fashion the picture as a black comedy, but with the sensibilities of a poignant melodrama.
They distinctly portray both viewpoints of the elderly with an elegance and grace that makes the film one of the more
emotional resonant pictures of the year.
Though Frantisek's shenanigans keep him young at heart, his disapproving, nagging wife, Emilie (Stella Zázvorková),
wishes he would accept his age with a more reticent attitude. And, when one of Frantisek's schemes is discovered and
he must pay a large sum of money, Emilie finds that their savings, a stash of money intended for elaborate funerals,
has been used to cover the debt, she demands that he change his ways. Of course, he cannot, and when his final
prank, in which he fakes his own death with Ed's help, proves too cruel, Emilie files for divorce. Realizing that
he's finally gone too far, Frantisek's change of heart might mean a more peaceful home life with his wife, but also
ushers in an atypical attitude that threatens his health. Now Emilie is desperate to have her old bubbly husband back
before it's too late.
The screenplay is chalk full of inspired moments considering the subject matter (that of declining health and plans for
a nice funeral), and Michálek seems to know the right moment to keep things from becoming too campy and silly.
He balances his film with wonderful performances from Brodský (in his final role) and Zázvorková, whose long relationship
with Brodský lends an authenticity to the proceedings that furthers the film's themes. This isn't a complicated film,
though a few insightful, introspective scenes are rich with the wisdom of old age, and Michálek frames his characters
with an exuberance for their individuality that belies the notion that the elderly are more or less in the same boat.
If the film has a darker aspect, it comes not from the elderly, but from Frantisek's son, Jara (Ondrej Vetchý), an
incredibly selfish, shortsighted man who pressures his parents to give up their small apartment and move into a
retirement community so his ex-wife and children will have a place to live. But Michálek deals with Jara's insensitivity
with a nice touch toward the end of the picture, in a moment that will surely inspire society's older parents to impart
a wake-up call to self-serving, immature children. Autumn Spring relishes its opportunity to present a perspective from
one's twilight years, and does so with gleeful attention to the more forgotten people in society. It's a pleasure to watch.
© 2003 Jonathan Cornwell
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 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
 | Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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