Ideally timed to draw domestic audiences back into Czech cinemas, loosely historical local-hero biopic “Havel” doesn’t let pesky facts get in the way of a good story. Multihyphenate Slávek Horák takes creative license with certain facts to stress the irony and absurdity of Václav Havel’s metamorphosis from celebrated playwright to banned and jailed human rights activist to eventual President of Czechoslovakia.
Concentrating more on Havel’s personal evolution (here prodded by the women in his life) and various emotional truths, who ultimately steps out of his comfort zone to become politically engaged. While some viewers may take issue with the simplifications, elisions and composites of Horák’s approach, others will be inspired once again by Havel’s courageous battle against oppression and the sacrifices he made.
A brief opening prologue set in the late 1980s lays out one of the central paradoxes of the protagonist’s life: that...
Concentrating more on Havel’s personal evolution (here prodded by the women in his life) and various emotional truths, who ultimately steps out of his comfort zone to become politically engaged. While some viewers may take issue with the simplifications, elisions and composites of Horák’s approach, others will be inspired once again by Havel’s courageous battle against oppression and the sacrifices he made.
A brief opening prologue set in the late 1980s lays out one of the central paradoxes of the protagonist’s life: that...
- 7/22/2020
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
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