Stůj, nebo se netrefím!

I was really looking forward to this film to the extent that I didn't hesitate to go to the cinema at that time. I expected a comedy in the style of my favorite French series about the Seventh Company, but the disappointment was proportional to the level of expectation. One star may be cruel, but I really expected something different. The cast, which came together for this film, had not been seen together in Czech cinema for several years, and the performances, along with several unconventional actors (Kříž and Brabec as introduced pranksters cast in the roles of German officers), are actually the only positive aspect of this work. The poor script, where an inexperienced screenwriter failed to grasp the difference between theatrical farce and film reality, is responsible for the bad result. The substitution of a chimney sweep for a black person can only work in the theater, in the film it appears naive and awkward. However, the created situation offered a number of possibilities - just the swapping of clothes between two railway workers and two German deserters, excellently cast with Noga and Šteindler, could have led to an endless number of great gags. One of the few successful comedic situations, in fact, occurs when the railway workers return home in German uniforms and their wives greet them with desperate lamentation that they joined the Germans shortly before the end of the war. The direction is uninspired and is just the final nail in the coffin knocked in by the screenwriter. This film simply had too much. Overall impression: 25%. (17.06.2006)