Kytice (2000) Reviews

• Dark and grim fairytales

  Gonkiz2001-09-23

  This movie is based on Czech ballads from the 19th century, and it shows. There are seven stories told in this movie, and all of them are incredibly beautiful. The film might seem a bit scattered and incoherent the fist twenty minutes, because it does not follow the ordinary storytelling that we are used to in Hollywood productions. Nevertheless, after the first story, the film makes more and more sense. It is SO beautiful. The imagery is so unreal, so exquisite, that I have a hard time describing it. If you get the chance, see it.

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• A film of visual beauty and dark folk lore.

  NateManD2005-07-05

  F.A. Brabec did an amazing job of directing "Kytice" (wildflowers), which is based on the book "the Seven Ballads". I'm not familiar with the novel, but I must say that the seven Czech fairy tales within the film are extremely nightmarish. These are not fairy tales to read to children before bedtime. One tale concerns an underwater spirit, who takes women captive as wives, if they happen to fall in the water. Another has a girl praying for her boyfriend to return from the dead. He returns in soldier uniform and gives her the power to fly every time she denounces her religious faith. The stories teach bizarre moral lessons, and people end up paying for their bad choices. The cinematography is gorgeous, and should be studied by film students everywhere. The movie is dark, but very moving and filled with colorful life. Jakubisko's art direction is amazing. (he helped produce the film along with his wife) The soundtrack is haunting and will stay with you long after the film is over. In fact I ended up buying the soundtrack, and it is excellent. "Kytice" reminds me of Kurasawa's "Dreams", "Big Fish" and "Valerie and her Week of Wonders" all rolled into one bizarre dream. The Czech Republic is a country thats film industry remains undiscovered by western audiences. I have yet to watch a Czech film that I didn't like. For more dark unsettling Czech folk lore also view Jakubisko's "An Ambiguous Report about the end of the World".

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• A superb dark and beautiful collection of Czech Fairy tales

  gulag2000-12-27

  Kytice (The Bouquet or Garland) is an exquisitely beautiful compendium of Czech fairy tales in an mature mode. These is not fairy tales ala Disney. Rather this is 'Marchen', the serious mythopoeic stuff. These are fairy tales with a very dark brooding Eastern European flavour. I happened to fall upon this by accident in Prague in December of 2000. I did not understand the dialogue since I do not speak Czech. But then again I really didn't need to. The images were absolutely stunning. The film is a collection of seven stories loosely bolted together with an over riding theme. Visually I was reminded on "A Company of Wolves" or even "Immoral Tales", the blending of the genuinely erotic with a very dark undercurrent of death and fate were however quite beautiful. The stunning visuals did not need American special effects (and predictability) to convey absolutely unforgettable images. I recommend this with the highest and richest enthusiasm. Hunt this down. On a trip to Europe if need be. And, if you can, bother some distributors to translate this and get it out to the English speaking world. I won't spoil the plot anymore... you must see it for your self. Gulag.

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• The Bouquet

  EdgarST2011-07-08

  Beautiful compendium of seven Czech tales: in "Kytice" (Wild Flowers/Garland/The Bouquet), three little girls miss their dead mother and make her come back in a very special way; in "Vodnik" (Waterman), a young woman disobeys her mother and falls into a lake, where she is seduced by an amphibious man to whom she bears a child; in "Svatební košile" (Wedding Shirts), a woman begs to the virgin Mary for her soldier husband's return and he does come back as a ghost; in "Polednice" (Noon Witch), a housewife, worried by the crying of her baby, invokes the presence of the terrible witch Coca; in "Zlatý kolovrat" (The Gold Spinning-Wheel), an innocent and beautiful peasant girl who is asked in marriage by a king, is murdered by her ambitious mother and twin sister, to take her place in court; in "Dcerina kletba" (Curse of the Daughter), a young woman is punished for abortion; and in "Štedrý den" (Christmas Day), two girls go out into the dark, frosty forest to solve an enigma, without realizing Death is after a dear one, completing the circle of stories, based in ballads written by Karel Jaromír Erben in 1853. All the tales belong to the mythic and poetic spirit of Romanticism, with elements of fantasy, folklore, fairy tales, eroticism, death and predestination. A highly rewarding cinematic experience.

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• Breathtaking

  marijasrndovic2007-09-02

  I saw the movie a couple of days ago and found it absolutely amazing. It was at the same time beautiful and dark, laden with symbols, especially when it comes to colours. It actually felt quite primal, with the scenes of burials and weddings, it really reminded me of my own country's customs and legends. Even though it's a different religion, it just gave away a Slavic feeling, and I recommend it to anyone who'd like to get to know the central/eastern European culture. I think the acting was maybe a bit forced, but I also think it couldn't have been done any other way, this isn't a movie to be seen as a story with a plot, action and a glorious happy-end, this just speaks to something a lot deeper inside you. Not to mention the fact that it is all rhymed, which always makes it more difficult for the actors to make it feel completely natural. Besides, there are scenes where there are practically no lines at all, where the acting was amazing (the Noon witch is my favourite example). I'd like for someone to post me on the last story, though. I haven't read the book (I doubt I'll find it here)and I'd like to see if I understood it correctly: the old lady is actually one of the girls (the red-headed), and what she saw in the lake many years ago was her own death at the church...?

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