In the middle of the new Czech film “Up and Down,” there is a long, completely uncomfortable sequence around a lunch table. It’s a kind of masterpiece of bad intentions and simmering hostility.
At the head of the table is an elderly professor, now suffering from a terminal illness. On his left is his embittered wife, whom he hasn’t seen in years, and their 40ish son, who has been living in Australia.
On the patriarch’s right is the younger woman he has been living with for almost 20 years, and the 18-year-old daughter they had together. (The daughter may be the only one present without an ax to grind.) Complicating things further is that the father’s companion had been involved with the son when she dumped him for dad all those years ago.
The conversation that bounces back and forth across this table is fraught with old resentments, political jabs and weary acceptance of family craziness. Director Jan Hrebejk (“Divided We Fall”) shows himself a careful observer of baffling human behavior.
It’s also quite funny.
“Up and Down” doesn’t stick completely to this family drama. This up-and-down movie hopscotches around to different characters who are connected by a strange chain of events.
It begins in the forest along the Czech border, where two truck drivers are bringing in a load of illegal immigrants. Miles after dropping off their passengers, they discover that a baby has been left in the back of the truck.
The infant is soon sold on the black market to a childless wife – she’s like Holly Hunter in “Raising Arizona” with an even more ferocious baby-fever. She presents the new addition to her hulking hubby (he’s a security guard, a soccer hooligan and a strangely gentle new dad).
Hrebejk connects the different strands of the stories until they create what looks like an unofficial portrait of Czech life today, touching on racism, class, economics and kitsch. As though to confirm Hrebejk’s status as social commentator, there’s a cameo appearance by former Czech president Vaclav Havel.
I felt as though “Up and Down” was a potentially terrific movie that never quite broke out into greatness, though it was interesting enough to watch. One suspects that to a Czech audience, it would mean much more.
“Up and Down” HHH
Intriguing: A misplaced illegal-immigrant baby becomes the connection between different groups in the Czech Republic, as this black comedy surveys different aspects of racism, class and economics. An intriguing movie that never quite breaks into greatness. (In Czech, with English subtitles.)
Rated: R rating is for violence, subject matter.
Now showing: tk
“Up and Down” HHH
Intriguing: A misplaced illegal-immigrant baby becomes the connection between different groups in the Czech Republic, as this black comedy surveys different aspects of racism, class and economics. An intriguing movie that never quite breaks into greatness. (In Czech, with English subtitles.)
Rated: R rating is for violence, subject matter.
Now showing: Metro.
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