The Smiles of Sad Men

So you get a few drinks and you consider yourself an alcoholic. But that’s only because you didn’t see what the guys from alcohol rehab in this film are capable of. Compared to them, you’ll feel like you don’t have any problem at all. I bow down before the creators. I think that this topic couldn’t have been conveyed better, especially as far as character psychology is concerned. Everyone delivers breathtaking acting performances. The saddest parts are probably those played by Ondřej Malý and Jaroslav Dušek. On the other hand, these are the characters that will make you think about them the most. I must admit that I wasn’t familiar with Mr. Formánek’s story before seeing this, but now he has my respect that he made it and got clean. And the creators deserve me taking my imaginary hat off, because they managed to make an exemplary European drama with a universal message. (25.04.2019)

Unfortunately, The Smiles of Sad Men is only a decent film if you’re in an alcohol rehab facility. The original text is obviously regarded for its raw authenticity; the film transcription owes nothing to it in this respect. However, there is no point in looking for any overlap here. Alcohol is the scourge of mankind, and those affected are destroying not only themselves, but their families as well. Dušek did not give us anything new, he has been stagnating for years, and none of the others exceeded their standard in the slightest. (08.09.2019)

The Smiles of Sad Men offers a slightly above-average drama with comic elements for Czech standards, which relies mainly on the theme and the cast, of which David Švehlík, Jaroslav Dušek and Ondřej Malý stand out. Any addiction is an extremely dangerous thing and facing it is not easy. It's a long-distance run, in which one can fall at any time, but it is important to always get up and keep trying, because the feeling of reaching the finish line is indescribable and tempting. I can't help feeling that a little more could have been extracted from the film, even though it has more than one raw and exceedingly realistic scene that brought me closer to the pitfalls of being in the grip of the “liquid demon”. (18.03.2019)

I assumed the film would be profoundly depressing and maybe even a bit stereotypical or boring, but frankly, I was far from bored. The calm pace of the story interestingly contrasted with the invisible, yet ever-present threat. The acting performances were excellent, although it seemed that Jaroslav Dušek wasn’t even acting, and I actually learned a life lesson – it’s unwise to get drunk on gin, a quality hangover can be achieved a lot cheaper. What I didn’t appreciate was the beatboxing, which was downright irritating when it clashed with the dialogue. (08.01.2019)