I, Olga Hepnarová

In the first half, which focuses on Hepnarová’s permanent depression and homosexuality, I’d have emphasized the reasons why she felt so wronged by the people around her. That is not clear enough from the film and when viewers don’t know the historical details, it only dawns on them after the tragedy, during her talk with her attorney (Juraj Nvota). Everything else is great, however – the period atmosphere, black and white visuals, coolness and detachedness of the narrative expressing the world inside Hepnarová’s head. And a truly amazing Michalina Olszanska in the leading role! P.S.: What part of the budget went to cigarettes? I wouldn’t want to see this in 4DX! (11.04.2016)

Many things bothered me. Every other "art like" scene lasted dozens of seconds longer, without being justified by saying anything new. Postsynchronisation, which is high above the domestic "standard", but especially in emotionally tense scenes, it will strike you, as the voiceover artist is not on the same page as the main hero. That the victims aren't even mentioned by name or that the move creators decided to play it safe following to successful examples (yes, in many ways it follows in Ida's footsteps)… Well, there would be a lot to comment on. Nevertheless, the authors got under my skin. It has an excellent subliminal tension of a la Capote/ Brooks classic, an almost unseen fact in our film industry, where the authors do not need to say everything in words as in a radio play, several infinitely strong scenes (led by a discussion with a lawyer), overall ambivalence leaving many purely on to the viewer and especially to the excellent Olszańska that excels even in some weaker scenes. (29.03.2016)

Cold-blooded in the current of the Czechoslovak New Wave. The style is great, but it gets bogged down in unclear motivations. The supporting characters are figures you need to know more about, and even Olga herself has to slouch and have a smoke rather than let the viewer really understand whether she's unfortunate, or crazy. The latter I take as part of the filmmaking game, the former unfortunately not. However, the suggestive final five minutes give it a fundamentally positive impression. 4 ½. (23.03.2016)

Olga Hepnarová and the madness of the human mind in the hardest form. Michalina Olszańska played it so convincingly and intensely that I think I will never forget her recitation of Olga’s letters. The creators took an incredibly difficult story and did an excellent job with it. The consciously black and white camera combined with the atmosphere of the seventies perfectly describes the incompetence of the time to solve anything and so Olga keeps relying on herself, her inner self and her thoughts and we, as the audience, have the chance to observe it and think about what’s going on in her head. In the end we, as the audience, are not able to solve it, but I feel that with this kind of personality even a renowned psychiatrist would have his or her hands full. Nevertheless, it was interesting to watch that kind of character for two hours. And in connection with some scenes that I will probably never forget I think that this film couldn’t have been done in a better way. I am really glad that this cooperation between the Czechs and Poles worked well. And now I am curious how long it will take before someone tries to make a film about Milada Horáková or the Mašín brothers… (23.03.2016)

I, Olga Hepnarova, am strong... and photogenic. A terribly unclear film in terms of approach to the main protagonist, but also in terms of acting and screenwriting. The film, which omits and fragments, and also unnecessarily repeats itself and in some places, by skipping details, confuses rather than reinforces the impression of coldness. The combination of a very cinematic and photogenic visual, a slightly theatrical alienated conception of certain scenes and contemporary documentaries is more so choppy than organic. I, Olga Hepnarova works within individual scenes, especially when there is no talk in them and smoke is rising from somewhere. Thanks to Michalina Olszańská's non-mediocre face and strange posture, it has a disturbing sex appeal. I would also like to highlight the free work with the time period, not putting in normalization backdrops on display and the suppression of any "systemic" features. The film notices the characters in a very specific spatial section, and it does not excuse them due to the time period and corruption of the system. It is very suggestive in this regard. Unfortunately, if I am to consider the film as a semantic unit that works with a distanced study of a monster and a procedural report about a mass murderer, I can't help but be embarrassed. Yes, this is the work of people who avoid many annoying Czech conventions and are instructed by a contemporary festival film, but that in and of itself does at all not guarantee coherence and impact. I must take the side of those who say that Hepnarová is a sure bet. Not to the certainty we've been used to here over the years, but that doesn't change anything. In all respects, the seemingly provocative and morally ambivalent film ends carefully. (15.03.2016)