Kolya (1996)

Good concept, poorly executed.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

I haven't seen as many Czech movies as I would like to, but I've liked all the ones that I've seen. Among those is Jan Svěrák's Oscar-winning "Kolja" (rendered "Kolya" in English). The director's father Zdeněk plays a concert cellist making a living by playing at funerals as the Soviet Union's grip on Czechoslovakia is weakening. But then his life changes after he has to take a five-year-old boy under his wing.The cinematography, character development, and historical context all combine to make this one fine movie. I don't know that I would go so far as to call it a masterpiece, but it's a fine piece of work, both for the plot and the acting. I recommend it, and I hope to see more movies by Jan Svěrák.

Well... how shall I put it? If you want some poetry about the human soul and there is no book available go and see Kolya. In a world voided of any human personality, needs, hopes only kindness can touch and heal. And who in this world can show all this better than a kid. Take your time and go for a stroll in the sunshine of humanity. I can only write five lines. I can only write five lines. I can only write five lines. I can only write five lines. I can only write five lines.I can only write five lines. I can only write five lines.I can only write five lines. I can only write five lines.I can only write five lines. I can only write five lines.

I just watched this film for the sixth or seventh time and I ended, as always with tears running down my cheeks. It is astonishing how all the bad comments here, are almost exclusively posted by Czech people and, the strongest argument of almost everyone, is that there are other better Czech films out there; most of them referring to the New Wave of the 60's and 70's. Furthermore what is very interesting is that most of the people that have posted their critique, whether it is good or bad, mention the fact that it won the Oscar. For you who don't like the film and state that there were better films, if they were Czech films in the past, or that the other films that were nominated the same year were in fact better, you contradict yourselves since most of you acknowledge, just as I do, that the Oscars are just a waste of space and time but, at the same time you state that another movie was so much more worthy of the price. Everyone knows that the Oscars are all about political correctness and praising movies that treat subjects that are hot, or just on the agenda, for the moment. However, not any too deep or too subversive subjects are welcome; the most important issue is still selling the movie, so no real surprises can be accepted. And the fact that the movie takes place in a communist, Warsaw-treaty country, just when the wall is about to fall down, and the whole communist project with it, is definitely the main reason for why it won the Oscar. Anyway...if we just disregard of any external factors when looking at this movie, I can't really see how anyone can dislike it. I have to say, I am not Czech born, but I am Swedish born with a Czech mother and a Slovak father, and my knowledge of the Czech and Slovak languages is quite good. I understand most of what I hear but I don't speak very well. But, even for me, I realize that so much of this movie is lost if you don't know the language, the history, the culture etc. of Czech, Slovak, Russian or any of the central European countries. I laugh and cry throughout the whole movie, but maybe it has to do with my incomplete knowledge of the language and, the fact that I have a very nostalgic approach towards this movie or much of the Czech or Slovak movies I see.Yes I agree, that there are some banal elements in the film and that the creators may have consulted various Hollywood people in order to make it more fathomable and appealing to the US market.However....the movie is not boring, it is not overly melodramatic, and since it doesn't pretend to make any deeper comments or analysis on how it was to live under authoritarian communist rule, it is merely making minor humoristic observations on some of the absurdities in the day to day life that emerged within such a society. And also, may it be cliché and banal, that we are all people and that no one wanted what had become of the Communist Party apparatus and its since long lost global socialist revolution, whether it be Russian, Czech, Slovak or any other of the included. I am not saying that what replaced it was some kind of salvation, but at least, people are free to think and act. Most of the comments from Americans here in IMDb are very naive and quite hollow, especially when it comes to these Oscar-winning, real life political movies. If you go and look at the comments about the movie "Hotel Rwanda" for example, there is a huge amount of people, almost exclusively US citizens, who have given it 10 out of 10, and many state that the movie has "opened there eyes", or "made them reevaluate the meaning of life". I myself think it is a horrible movie, with it sole purpose to clean the conscience of the western world and the entertainment industry. The extremely complex and intricate historical and political aspects of the conflict were hardly mentioned, and the only emotions that it wanted to awake in the viewer, was guilt and pity. I am sorry for straying from the subject here, but I just wanted to somehow, even though I am aware that it has been done kind of vaguely, make my point which is that a movie doesn't have to dig as deep as it can, if that is not its aim. The story in Kolya is quite ordinary, but what is important is that to love and care for those who are in need of it, is not absent in any of us (obviously with the exception of sociopaths, and those who suffer from various mental disorders). And that is what, may it be at sometimes too obvious and cliché, the two Sveraks have accomplished. And obviously the little boy is such a big part of the whole feeling, he is absolutely brilliant. He breaks my heart every time I watch the scenes of when his spirit, albeit a very strong one, brakes down. And to you, I think you were a Brit, that thought the movie was too sentimental, and that the scene where Kolya tries to ring his Babushka in the bathtub, was ridiculous; I just wonder, where is your heart? A little boy losing his whole foundation just like that, having to live with a strange man in a strange place where (almost) no one understands you, even though his spirit is strong, suddenly breaking down and calling for his grandmother.... I thought that scene was very emotional, and that is what is the strength of the whole movie, meaning that it never tries to play on the pity of us viewers. Kolya almost never whines or cries but, when he does it's because he really can't take it anymore.

Who knows what you will do when your back is against the wall? Survival makes you do some things that you would never try. In this case Louka (Zdenek Sverák), a confirmed bachelor, marries a Russian woman to get her Czech papers and to get him some money to buy a car and fix his house and pay some debts.As soon as they marry, she heads to Germany. her son, Kolja (Andrei Chalimon), a little five-year-old, ends up with Louka, who soon finds that he is bonding with the boy.It is a beautifully touching story with some outstanding performances by the two leads and Libuse Safránková as Klara.It is fascinating that star and writer of the screenplay is also the father of the director. I cannot imagine how that worker, but I bet it was interesting at times.