Kráska v Nesnázích (Beauty in Trouble) (2006)

86% of critics liked it
(44 reviews)
73% of users liked it
(636 ratings)

Pupendo and Up and Down director Jan Hrebejk thoughtfully ponders the effect of contemporary events on traditional Czech culture with this engrossing tale of the unlikely romance shared between a desperate young mother and a kindly, but much older, Czech expatriate. Effectively rendered destitute by… More Pupendo and Up and Down director Jan Hrebejk thoughtfully ponders the effect of contemporary events on traditional Czech culture with this engrossing tale of the unlikely romance shared between a desperate young mother and a kindly, but much older, Czech expatriate. Effectively rendered destitute by the floods that washed through Prague in 2002, struggling young father and husband Jarda (Roman Luknar) eventually resorts to stripping stolen cars as a means of supporting his impoverished family. Jarda's wife Marcela (Anna Geislerová) is having difficulty accepting her husband's nefarious new career, though, and before long she is packing her bags and rounding up the kids to seek shelter with her mother. Life at her mother's house isn't easy thanks to the constant presence of her mean-spirited stepfather Richard (Jiri Schmitzer), but it simply seems as if there is no place left to go and Marcela's options have run dry. Meanwhile, aging Czech émigré Benes (Josef Abrhám) is traveling to Prague from his home in Tuscany in order to reclaim a house that was previously seized by the communists. When Benes and Marcela meet in a chance encounter and the benevolent older man clearly takes a liking to the beautiful young woman, the prospect of securing a stable future for her young children soon prompts the confused Marcela to consider leaving her beloved husband behind in order to make a permanent home with the elegant but elderly foreigner. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Directed By: Jan Hrebejk
Written By: Petr Jarchovsky
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Comedy

In Theaters: Jul 2, 2006 Wide
Studio: Menemsha

Critic Reviews

Cary Darling, Dallas Morning News
While this seems like familiar territory, in the hands of director Jan Hrebejk and his longtime screenwriting partner, Petr Jarchovský, it's an engrossing, layered story of the ill-fitting choices and compromises everyone makes.
John Hartl, Seattle Times
Beauty in Trouble uses another kind of catastrophe to reveal the true nature of its central characters.
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Impressive for its mastery, intelligence, and ambition in juggling intricate plot strands and memorable characters.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
This is the kind of film that achieves one simple but difficult thing: It pleases you.
John Anderson, Newsday
Comedy and chemistry make for an intoxicating mix in this acerbic, knowing character study from Czech director Jan Hrebejk and screenwriter Petr Jarchovsky.
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
Deeply affecting and darkly amusing.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Offers an uncanny soap opera story that turns weird.
Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze
While life just got a little more complicated with the introduction of the market economy into formerly socialist Eastern Europe and China too, so did their movies. A surface meditation on materialism and its impact on human emotions. Do the math.
Kam Williams, Sly Fox
A beauty in trouble? Not really. Queen takes pawn, Czech-mate!
Sal Cinquemani, Slant Magazine
Not a whole lot went into this DVD release, as evidenced by the fact that the critics do most of the heavy lifting on the disc's packaging, even providing the synopsis on the back of the box.
Lawrence Toppman, Charlotte Observer
The movie begins with a flood that threatens Prague literally; it ends with a flood of emotions that threaten to undermine a potentially happy relationship.
Robert W. Butler, Kansas City Star
All the characters in Petr Jarchovsky's screenplay are drawn in shades of gray. The result isn't so much a morality play as an amorality play.
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion
Excellent ensemble dramedy, which avoids mawkishness while keeping its characters complex and treating even the least likable of them with a welcome degree of empathy.
Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
The filmmakers seem more interested in running the camera over Marcela's body than really figuring out who she is.
Sarah Boslaugh, Playback:stl
Petr Jarchovsý's script is elliptical, building the story through a succession of small scenes whose import is not always immediately obvious.
Marc Mohan, Oregonian
[A] well-observed tale, one with no heroes or villains, just people trying to make something of the situations in which they find themselves.
Jonathan Kiefer, Sacramento News & Review
For a class-conscious farce that's at least serious enough to borrow its title from Robert Graves, it's impressively unaffected and utterly watchable.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Dean M

It is full of unexpected twists, humour and amazing performances culminating in a surprising and paradox ending. Rounding out this excellent cast is Emília Vasaryova as Jarda's mentally fragile mother who gives any money she gets to the local religious charlatan. There is a lot… More
It is full of unexpected twists, humour and amazing performances culminating in a surprising and paradox ending. Rounding out this excellent cast is Emília Vasaryova as Jarda's mentally fragile mother who gives any money she gets to the local religious charlatan. There is a lot going on here for a small film and it's good story with a great script and a lot of comic relief. The leastest character is Richard (played by Jiri Schmitzer) because he is a real horror show. He borders on being a child abuser to the kids. He's obsessive about cleanliness, but ungraciously farts at the table, all the while demanding manners and decorum from the kids. He's real low class socially handicapped wretch.
Byron B

The trailer was set to the Falling Slowly song from Once, which gave it a sweet somber tone, but based on the trailer I expected the film to be funnier and sexier. I didn't find it very humorous, and while Anna as Marcela was attractive and seductive, the film wasn't so… More
The trailer was set to the Falling Slowly song from Once, which gave it a sweet somber tone, but based on the trailer I expected the film to be funnier and sexier. I didn't find it very humorous, and while Anna as Marcela was attractive and seductive, the film wasn't so much about her sex life. She has to take care of her two kids, she has to deal with being a guest in her mother's and father-in-law's house when her husband goes to jail, she has to cope with her husband's mother trying to convince her not to get a divorce, and she has to figure out if she should accept the advances of an older man who is quite well off. Sure there are a few funny moments, but overall it is very serious material. The movie is slowly paced and contains natural performances from all involved. The love triangle is left open ended and so that probably explains why it has not caught on so much with American audiences who generally want neatly wrapped up closure.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]In "Beauty in Trouble," Marcela(Anna Geislerova) moves out of her home, taking her two children, Kuba(Adam Misik) and Lucina(Michaela Mrvikova), to live with her mother(Jana Brejchova), and her husband, Risa(Jiri Schmitzer), in their small apartment.… More
[font=Century Gothic]In "Beauty in Trouble," Marcela(Anna Geislerova) moves out of her home, taking her two children, Kuba(Adam Misik) and Lucina(Michaela Mrvikova), to live with her mother(Jana Brejchova), and her husband, Risa(Jiri Schmitzer), in their small apartment. Marcela's husband, Jarda(Roman Luknar), is involved in stripping stolen cars, at least since a devastating flood wrecked their home. One day one of Jarda's associates steals the wrong car(one with a satellite tracking system), belonging to Evzen(Josef Abrham), a wealthy man who spends most of his time in Tuscany. As Jarda heads to prison, Evzen starts taking an interest in Marcela...[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]Populated by more than its share of its bad marriages, "Beauty in Trouble" is an intriguing movie about the class structure in post-Communist Czech Republic. Evzen is kind, simply because he can afford to be, a luxury none of the other characters can attest to. For example, he was out of the country when the floods hit, which Marcela's family suffered through and which may have forced Jarda into an illegal activity. Instead of being open towards his family, Risa is remarkably hostile towards their presence. Look, I am the last person to complain about manners but still...Regardless of how little we may have to share, family is family, right?[/font]

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Cast

Anna Geislerová
as Marcela Cmolikova
Roman Luknar
as Jarda Cmolik
Emília Vásáryová
as Liba Smolikova
Jana Brejchova
as Zdena Hrstkova
Jiri Schmitzer
as Richard Hrstka
Josef Abrhám
as Evzen Benes
Jan Hrusinsky
as Havlik
Jiri Machacek
as Patocka
Andrei Toader
as Mirek
Nikolai Penev
as Picus
Jaromira Milova
as Havlikova
Adam Misík
as Kuba Cmolik
Michaela Mrvíková
as Lucina Cmolikova
Raduza
as Raduza

See more (14)

Kráska v Nesnázích (Beauty in Trouble) (2006)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

Dean M

Byron B

Walter M

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