Up and Down (Horem Pádem) (Loop the Loop) (2004)
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83% of critics liked it
(65 reviews) -
69% of users liked it
(1,150 ratings)
The often uncomfortable bonds of family intersect with the wary political and social allegiances of the Czech Republic following the collapse of the U.S.S.R. and the end of Soviet occupation in this drama from director Jan Hrebejk and screenwriter Petr Jarchovsky. Goran and Milan (Zdenek Suchy and… More The often uncomfortable bonds of family intersect with the wary political and social allegiances of the Czech Republic following the collapse of the U.S.S.R. and the end of Soviet occupation in this drama from director Jan Hrebejk and screenwriter Petr Jarchovsky. Goran and Milan (Zdenek Suchy and Jan Budar) are criminals who, while ferrying a truckload of illegal aliens into the Czech Republic, discover that one of their cargo has misplaced a baby; looking to turn a profit wherever they can, they sell the lost child to Lubos and Eman (Marek Daniel and Pavel Liska), two petty thieves who run a black-market adoption agency. Among Lubos and Eman's clients are Miluska and Frantisek (Natasa Burger and Jiri Machacek), a barren and lonely couple who are unable to adopt due to Frantisek's criminal record, which amounts to a bout of drunken foolishness during a soccer game. Meanwhile, Martin Horecky (Petr Forman) is a Czech expatriate living in Australia who comes home for a visit following the death of his father, who abandoned the family before Martin was born. Circumstances prove not to be especially welcoming for Martin; his mother (Emilia Vasaryova), who has become poisoned with race hate, invites two guests for his homecoming dinner, a half-sister he's never met (Kristyna Liska-Bokova) and her mother, who was once Martin's girlfriend (Ingrid Timkova). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Jan Hrebejk
- Written By
- Jan Hrebejk, Petr Jarchovsky
- Genres
- Drama, Art House & International, Comedy
R,
- In Theaters
- Sep 16, 2004 Limited
- Studio
- Sony Pictures Classics
Critic Reviews
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Marta Barber, Miami Herald
When you understand its message, the film takes on a different level.
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Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
For an engrossing, funny, sad, cautiously hopeful portrait of post-Soviet life in Eastern Europe, look no further than Up and Down.
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Richard Nilsen, Arizona Republic
The movie asks us to see these people as humans and to forgive them for being human and doing to each other what humans beings do to each other. It's a deeply humane film.
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Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post
Serious stuff, to be sure, but hilarious touches abound.
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Ty Burr, Boston Globe
It manages the neat trick of being both charming and bilious, and its tart points about racism translate excellently into English.
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Cast
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Petr Forman
as Martin
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Emília Vásáryová
as Vera
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Jiri Machacek
as Frantisek
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Natasa Burger
as Miluska
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Jan Triska
as Otakar
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Ingrid Timkova
as Hana
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Kristyna Liska-Bokova
as Lenka
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Marek Daniel
as Lubos
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Jan Budar
as Milan
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Zdenek Suchy
as Goran
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Jaroslav Dusek
as Plukovnik
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Vaclav Havel
as Himself
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Jaroslav Ducek
as The Colonel
