Probuzení

Krejčík scores again. At the time, a big hit among young people in this country and in the Eastern Bloc as a whole, it made the young Jana Brejchová an international star. Without any hints of ideology, it’s a testimony of the young generation, which in the post-Stalin era of slowly melting ice can start to take a deep breath of rebelliousness and timidly emerging rock 'n' roll. Outstanding Petr Kostka in his acting debut. The final, optimistic reunion scene was delivered at the instigation of the approvers, despite Krejcik's disapproval. (19.08.2006)

This is the direction Czech cinema should not have taken. But Jana was ready to set sail. "Marcel! Rock!" On the other hand, let's not pretend that this is something ultra groundbreaking and innovative - these films about troubled youths who lived their childhood during the war and, by the time they were teens, didn't care anymore have been made all over the world. Think of Marlon Brando in The Wild One, James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause, or Horst Buchholz in Teenage Wolfpack. In the Czech case, it was Jana Brejchová’s spinning skirt that solved it. (02.03.2009)

This is actually the first film directed by Jiří Krejčík that I saw, and I must say, it almost dropped my jaw. The ease with which he directed the actors here, how naturally they played, how interesting the story was, and how realistically it was presented, even though there are acting legends here, completely amazed me. An excellent film, where even the ending is bearable. (05.12.2014)