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At one point someone is reading Kundera's Lightness of Being. It fits with the film, a sensitive and funny relationship drama filled with quirky characters and emotional conflicts. It's also romantic and sexy in all the best measure, delivers a solid literate story, and gives a glimpse of life in the Czech Republic. There's some history, but mostly it's a story of a man and woman at odds, their breakup, the new man, and the family members who are caught up in the changes. Came out in 2006 but only made it to video store recently. My first Czech film experience, looking forward to more.

Another well made, thoughtful film from director Jan Hrebejk. The film's strengths are its story and its characters. Most of the characters are richly drawn, while the intriguing premise is handled with an appropriately somber tone. Hrebejk relies too heavily on pop music interludes, and one or two of the more minor characters dwell on such extremes that make them less believable.

Moral ambiguity never looked so good. And some people can't make a good decision to save their lives.

Evocative. The storyline may be simple, but the characters are not, and through the movie we meet many who leave much food for thought.

Evocative. The storyline may be simple, but the characters are not, and through the movie we meet many who leave much food for thought.

It is full of unexpected twists, humour and amazing performances culminating in a surprising and paradox ending. Rounding out this excellent cast is Emília Vasaryova as Jarda's mentally fragile mother who gives any money she gets to the local religious charlatan. There is a lot going on here for a small film and it's good story with a great script and a lot of comic relief. The least character is Richard (played by Jiri Schmitzer) because he is a real horror show. He borders on being a child abuser to the kids. He's obsessive about cleanliness, but ungraciously farts at the table, all the while demanding manners and decorum from the kids. He's real low class socially handicapped wretch.

It is full of unexpected twists, humour and amazing performances culminating in a surprising and paradox ending. Rounding out this excellent cast is Emília Vasaryova as Jarda's mentally fragile mother who gives any money she gets to the local religious charlatan. There is a lot going on here for a small film and it's good story with a great script and a lot of comic relief. The leastest character is Richard (played by Jiri Schmitzer) because he is a real horror show. He borders on being a child abuser to the kids. He's obsessive about cleanliness, but ungraciously farts at the table, all the while demanding manners and decorum from the kids. He's real low class socially handicapped wretch.

Such a rich and wonderfully subtle drama. The story is simple yet full of complexity of life, which is everything but black and white. The seemingly fragmented plot perfectly reflects the main character's struggles - both internal and external. Highly convincing acting and character development, especially of the husband's mother, her own mother, and the step-father. And the incredible ending! The mere 3 minutes invite so many possible interpretations. Just like the awkward moment the lodger announces the bad news: forget about happily ever after, life is full of nagging and unpleasant details, learn to live with them and one may just momentarily reach some level of happiness, and that's probably the best one can get.

An interesting story about choosing an older rich lover over young not so rich husband.

Yet another dispatch-from-a-nation. "An instant classic"? That's the trouble. Just add water.

Good film and story, but I agree that the trailer misrepresented the film.

Czech film about a woman who is torn between doing what is right for her family and what her heart leads her to. Nothing special but worth a look. Using theme songs from "Once" i think was a big no-no and really detracted from the film.

Well, some movies add up to be more than the sum of their parts. This isn't one of them. It does have LOTS of good parts, but they seem to be pieces from different puzzles, and never quite fit together. Nevertheless, it's worth checking out to examine the parts.

Nice! I could see it actually as a story here in the US seamlessly. It was easy to relate to the themes in the film.

The trailer was set to the Falling Slowly song from Once, which gave it a sweet somber tone, but based on the trailer I expected the film to be funnier and sexier. I didn't find it very humorous, and while Anna as Marcela was attractive and seductive, the film wasn't so much about her sex life. She has to take care of her two kids, she has to deal with being a guest in her mother's and father-in-law's house when her husband goes to jail, she has to cope with her husband's mother trying to convince her not to get a divorce, and she has to figure out if she should accept the advances of an older man who is quite well off. Sure there are a few funny moments, but overall it is very serious material. The movie is slowly paced and contains natural performances from all involved. The love triangle is left open ended and so that probably explains why it has not caught on so much with American audiences who generally want neatly wrapped up closure.

A slice of life with interesting characters. Great cinematography.

I saw this in Florida recently...This film is based on one of my favorite poems...Beauty in Trouble by Robert Graves (the poem turns up in a song during the film)...The film is provocative on many levels...it raises disturbing questions about family relationships but also the tension created by physical attraction in different relationships. The characters were well developed and the scenery in Tuscany is gorgeous. A very disturbed stepfather role gave the entire film an unresolved tension and the film had a very abrupt ending.

This was a pleasant enough way to pass a couple of hours. Decent performances, interesting to get a glimpse of Prague. I wasn't bored but neither did I feel deeply involved. A mild recommendation.

This film is a moderately engaging drama with some relatively interesting characters, but I would not go out of my way to recommend it.