Honeymoon

And here it goes again! Once again I came across a Czech movie that really knocked my socks off with how good it was, but when I came to Filmbooster what knocked my socks off were the other users here. The worst part is that from reading the czech reviews here, I didn’t find a single reason why Honeymoon should have gotten such a negative score. Where are all the bad reviews? In my opinion, Honeymoon is a pretty brutal psychological movie, which reminded me mostly of Scandinavian dramas. I admit that it could have been a lot more brutal, but on the other hand, everything is made up for by the excellent acting performances, where the actors make sure that you know what to think about their character. Other than Geislerová’s character, which seemed a bit unfinished to me after I saw the movie. But everything is made up for by the visual ending, which proves that the director of photography is the man. Honeymoon might be a chamber drama, but it has no problems mesmerizing you with its human roughness, which is something I don’t see in Czech movies very often to be honest. (15.09.2015)

The film looks as if its creators were trying to make a B movie thriller from the 1990s, which does not go hand in hand with Hřebejk's poetics of humorous supporting characters. This special comedic-dramatic mix survives thanks to the camera and great actors. However, a strong story, a meaningful plot construction and, above all, focus, are all missing. This is rather a disappointment due to the missed opportunity. (02.07.2013)

This film is like Dogma with incredibly stupid descriptive monologues and one-liners like "we hid inside of each other". The only uncertainty in the film is when one of the characters goes from book recitations to wooden talk. Psychology? Ridiculous. Trier's final heist beyond the edge of everything. A fake game of an aestheticized tragedy, under which there is a black hole of persistent efforts to get inside the pathology of human relationships. It's not just that Jarchovsky's scenarios are excessive, unnatural and disintegrating (although they can theoretically reconstruct logical thematic units, contexts and intentions to shake the viewer), it's that Hřebejk chooses a senselessly pompous style instead of civility, which exacerbates the debility as a result. His films do not lack ambition and potentially a world look, but they do desperately lack the ability to get into characters in ways other than through visual and verbal explicitness. Sorry, but this fake offends me deeply. [30%] (22.08.2013)

The dialogue was at times so silly you couldn't possibly say it, the acting unconvincing for the camera – it would have worked in the theatre and there would have been ovations, but it didn't fit a film. A good nibble here and there and you get the feeling that’s how it would happen and it all feels natural, but then it's broken up by bad acting or moronic dialogue. Here and there a nice image, but this film is not artistic... where is Czech cinema headed? :-D (06.07.2013)

Honeymoon is a tense drama about guilt, responsibility and shadows of the past that will catch up with you. Psychologically precise, with only one or two editing lapses (read: WTF moments), it constantly leaves the audience in doubt as to where the truth is and who is lying, who the villain is and who the victim is. There is also welcome comic relief in the character of the sister’s husband, who prefers to sleep on the toilet when he’s drunk. (30.06.2013)