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Kolya

7.2

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Original title

Kolja (Kolya)

Year

1996

Running time

110 min.

Country

Czech Republic

Director

Jan Svěrák

Screenwriter

Zdeněk Svěrák

Cast

Music

Ondrej Soukup

Cinematography

Vladimir Smutny

Producer

Co-production Czech Republic-United Kingdom;

Genre

Comedy. Drama | Music. Childhood. Melodrama. Comedy-Drama

Synopsis

Franta Louka is a concert cellist in Soviet-occupied Czechoslovakia, a confirmed bachelor and a lady's man. Having lost his place in the state orchestra, he must make ends meet by playing at funerals and painting tombstones. But he has run up a large debt, and when his friend, the grave-digger Mr. Broz, suggests a scheme for making a lot of money by marrying a Russian woman so that she can get her Czech papers, he reluctantly agrees. She takes advantage of the situation to emigrate to West Germany, to her lover; and leaves her five-year-old son with his grandmother; when the grandmother dies, Kolya must come and live with his stepfather - Louka.

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Rankings Position

#12 Best Czech Movies of all time

Awards: 1996: Oscar: Best Foreign Language Picture

1996: Golden Globe: Best Foreign Language Picture

1996: Nominated BAFTA Awards: Best Foreign Language Picture

1996: European Film Awards: Nominated for Best Film

1996: Venice Film Festival: Honorable Mention (Jan Sverák)

1996: Satellite Awards: Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film

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Critics' reviews

"It is a work of love, beautifully photographed by Vladimir Smutny in rich deep reds and browns (...) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)"

Roger Ebert: Chicago Sun-Times
"As an Oscar nominee, Kolya lacks the cinematic dazzle of France's 'Ridicule'. But no one can claim that its emotional clout isn't earned."

Mike Clark: USA Today
"Jan Sverak's fourth feature balances heartwarming sentiment with gentle humor and observations that strike universal chords."

David Rooney: Variety
"It's a lovely film, and deserves to reach the mainstream audience that typically ignores foreign films."

Edward Guthmann: SFgate
"Zdenek Sverák's reluctant guardian is the only character of substance in this otherwise unchallenging confection set in a Soviet-occupied Czechoslovakia. (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"

Nick Hilditch: BBC
"The script is contrived, obvious and shallow, and benefits not a jot from being set during the decline of communism. That said, however, it is a polished affair"

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Kolya

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