how can the average rating be only 5.9?!!! - Zelary (2003) Discussion

[–] zapiekanki 20 years ago

Yes, you're right.. Very wonderful movies are coming out from the Czech Republic. Such a shame that Western audience do not appreciate the quality of this films!

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[–] jan-king 19 years ago

I just saw Zelary Friday night in Yellow Springs, Ohio. It probably has a very limited release in the United States as our theaters are monopolized by Hollywood movies. I thought the movie was wonderful, certainly the best movie I've seen all year. It gets a 10 from this westerner.

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[–] PsychoDingo 12 years ago

I'm an American, from the western United States even, and I love Czech cinema.

Most of what I've seen is from the new wave of the 1960s and 1970s, but I've also seen a few newer Czech movies. Almost every Czech movie I've seen is great, and I'm always encouraging other people to watch Czech films.

50 Underseen Movies: http://www.imdb.com/list/tD_MS59rL_Q/

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[–] dankapinkosova 19 years ago

I can not agree with you more. It is very sad that it did not win Oscar too. It was sooo true.. The whole story I can relate to my grandfather’s memories about the Russians. The love story was just soooo realistically done (great job) nothing like those sex obsessed movies that they try to call themselves love stories. THIS WAS THE BEST MOVIE I HAD SEEN IN AT LEAST 10 YEARS. THANK YOU GUYS.... VERY MOVING.

I am tired to see movies about South America full of sex and irresponsible behavior of young people (I am talking about especially two of them... the gangs of the Rio and American made movie about children adoption).
GET OVER IT... ANYBODY CAN HAVE SEX AND GET HI (EVEN AT THE AGE 7).... IF THOSE KIDS CAN LEARN TO USE DRUGS WHY THEY CAN NOT LEARN HOW TO READ...

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[–] gikau 19 years ago

I agree. Just watched it last night here in New Zealand, at a small independent cinema. Excellent movie, I love Czech movies. Great story, and the acting is superb all over. I understand it's based on a true story..?
The relationship between the main characters is so well described, how two people who are so different come to love each other. The ending was brutal with the partisan invasion of the village, and in contrast to the previous warmth and humour. I loved the Joza character and the way he was portrayed.

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] Andela 19 years ago

SPOILERS!

Up until the end I would've given this movie a 9, but when Joza died it plummeted to a 5. I really fell for him right along with Eliska. As soon as he got sent back out to find more villagers I knew what was coming. These wartime dramas don't seem to be satisfied with themselves unless they do away with the hero at the end. It drives me nuts. When they played that pasted on epilogue where she comes back with Richard years later to find the burned out shell of the home she shared with Joza, just to share a giggle with the old midwife, I almost puked. That's the epitaph the movie gives Joza? He deserved a lot better. I liked the movie up until the end so much that the ending felt like a betrayal, and left me depressed for the rest of the evening.

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[–] Tetra123 19 years ago

I do agree with you.War movies always seem to lose the lead characters by the end of them. I suppose it's about putting a face to those who die in war. By becoming attatched to a charater, the audience is allowed a better understanding of what losing a loved one as a result of war may feel like.Just the same, I also thought it was a bummer to see Joza go in the end as well.

Overall,I felt "Zelary" was a strong film. Even aside from the plot,it was still interesting to watch: the contrasting color tones, countryside and costumes were amazing.

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[–] stratt14 19 years ago

**Spoiler**

I am not sure if you watched Zelary on DVD or not so this may not help much if you did not. There is a deleted scene from the sawmill where Hana brings Joza his lunch in the blue pot. She asks him if it is edible and they share a laugh. This is right before the attempted rape/rescue scene. I think that having Hana return to the home and find the blue pot is a fitting epitath to Joza. Sadly, this reference is lost by the deletion of the scene. Moreover, the laugh she shares with Lucka showed me that she carried a part of Zelary with her back to Praha. Though I can certainly understand your feeling the end was pasted on.

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] ashleespseudonym 18 years ago

"Pasted on" is a good way to describe how I felt about the ending, too. I enjoyed this movie a lot (I'd rank it in my top 3 foreign films, along with the director's cut of "Das Boot" and the 30 amazing minutes I've seen of "Life is Beautiful") but the ending just left me thinking, "That can't be the way it ends, right?" The movie was so great up to that point, and then it suddenly becomes sort of cliche: the hero dies, loose ends are neatly tied up, the mysterious medicine woman says a few words that are meant to be poignant, wise, and layered with meaning (but instead come off as contrived and a bit too much), and the screen fades to black. I know it was realistic for Hana to leave the mountain and continue w/ her med degree, and I wouldn't have expected her to stay there forever (although the romantic within me would have been happy if she had)... I just didn't like the way her return played out on screen.

Thanks for pointing out the blue pot thing, though. That does make the ending a little more satisfying. I watched the deleted scenes, but I didn't notice the link.

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] sndform 18 years ago

I was also upset to see Joza die. In fact, I cried for an hour, but please remember that this is a true story. If this is really what happened to the real Joza how could the film have ended any other way? Don't you want to see the story as it really happened, or as you wish it would have happened? One of my pet peeves is when movies are made from historical or true events and then the history or actual events are rewritten to be inacurate.

I also agree 100 percent with the original poster. This is one of the best movies I have ever seen. In my opinion it's close to perfect. It has everything you could ever want from a film. I give it 10 out of 10.

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[–] earthgirl-1 18 years ago

I also loved this movie and, like everybody else was most upset with the ending, but I guess that's real life; nothing is neatly tidied up as it is in Hollywood or even most novels.

Now, can somebody please answer my questions?

I got the impression that the partisans were returning Czech soldiers, but perhaps not. Why would they commit such atrocities on their own people?

Also, when Jozsa lay dying, why did Hanuka not rush over to him, but stay where she was, not even moving, or even looking particularly upset?
It was all rather... flat.
Or have I answered my own question and is that 'real life'?

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[–] rosej-1 18 years ago

Those were Russian soldiers who 'liberated' Zelary.
Hana did not go to Joza for the same reason that he gave her a quick kiss and then exhausted left the safety of the old mill to go out and find young Juriga (Vojta); she the medical student would not leave her patient - he, good neighbor to all the village, would not refuse a request for help.

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[–] earthgirl-1 18 years ago

Thanks for that Rosej,
I can understand the 'good neighbour' village mentality. My dad (who is also called Joza) comes from a tiny Hungarian village, and he lived through WW2 as a young teenager.

Even now, in safe and secure New Zealand, he will help anybody, any time, at any cost, which is usually to his health.
Mum hates it. She is also from another small village in Hungary but the 'love thy neighbour' concept escaped her!!

Anyway, thanks, the behaviour of the characters makes a little more sense to me now.

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[–] Filthy_Finn 17 years ago

Yes, this was an excellent movie, even though the beginning was a little too slow and boring.

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[–] lostto 16 years ago

The ending seems to have confused many re: the identity of troops...it helps to know that Russian troops frequently victimized the very communities they had just liberated, usually from a combination of alcohol-ladened celebrations and villagers reluctance to include sexual favors as part of their gratitude. The front was fluid, and an control of area along it could change hands several times in just a few dys or weeks. Both the original liberators and the ultimate liberators have red-starred caps, so they were all Russian. I believe the rescue operation at the end was to save them from either nearby German troops, or perhaps from the fighting between the Germans and Russians.

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[–] Tekla-too 16 years ago

I am another Westerner who loves this film! I have a crush on the Joza character as well, but I do understand why he died. WAR IS HELL. Didn't anybody tell you?! You want the movies to pour sugar over the war and pretend that all the good guys are still alive and only the bad guys die? I am so sorry to have to tell you that is just not the way it is. I felt this movie showed so many realistic sides to war, while focusing so much on the civilians. It was very, very good. But very exhausting too. So much happiness and so much heartache, just like in the real world. In a sense you could say that many people watch movies to ESCAPE reality; this movie was no escape. For me, I gave it 10 stars.

Tekla in Texas

Criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, friend, acquaintance or stranger.

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