Gump - pes, který naučil lidi žít

We also have a rescue dog at home (our second). The first one was called Ben. He was an Irish setter who delighted us with his lovely presence for eleven years, and a few times a year he ran off into the woods to chase some deer. The other one is named Rex. He’s a cross between a German Shepherd and a Beagle. He loves getting into mischief, he's simply irresistible. I spend almost all my free time with him, we're always wandering around the neighborhood... If you or your loved ones are dog lovers, I am absolutely sure that this family movie will move and charm you at the same time. Working with animals is not an easy thing to do, which is why I admire the filmmakers. They handled it very well. In short, I've probably never seen a better Czech movie about dogs. It says a lot not only about the guileless animal spirits, but also about people who are not so guileless anymore. Apart from the great camera and beautiful nature shots, I was also impressed by Bolek Polívka’s toned down acting performance. And Gump speaking with his inner voice (unmistakably Ivan Trojan) is guaranteed to delight any child viewer. (80%) (09.05.2023)

The basic story and message are, of course, fine, but I can't pretend that the resulting film as a whole works. What was F. A. Brabec trying to achieve? An illustration for an audiobook, a children's film, a parable? There's a bit of everything here, but it doesn't hold together at all, and that's a fundamental problem. A full-length movie can't rely on just one cute dog, kitschy sunsets, or a bunch of familiar faces in randomly assigned roles. (05.07.2024)