Robinsonka

The first version of the adaptation by Majerová was accused of being too lyrical, particularly by the trio of screenwriters Otto Hofman, Jiří Weiss and Jaromír Pleskot, who also directed The Girl Robinson Crusoe. Ota Hofman completely abandoned this approach when he and Karel Kachyňa wrote a new script, which Kachyňa also created in 1974. This later version is, in my opinion, much more successful, although it did not learn from the basic mistakes that lay in the imperfections of the set design, which was set around 1936. Making do with one old car never made for a good retro film. If the main protagonist played by Tvrzníková seems to have fallen out of the most modern youth magazines of 1956, then it is literally flagrant. A proper acceptance of the time period of the plot is of major importance in understanding the main storyline, wherein the father is completely passive in taking care of the household and no one finds it strange that his immature daughter should literally sacrifice herself for him in this respect. She also flirts with the role of a surrogate mother to her newly born baby brother at the expense of her own emotional life. Fortunately, however, the story is based more on the girl's inner world, which will charm any admirer of Crusoe's adventures. There’s also no need to have it spoiled by the poor handling of the dialogue of the main protagonist, much less by the toothy model Rudolf Jelínek and the not- particularly-expressive Libuše Havelková, who made her screen debut as the maid Tonička. (21.11.2009)