Bea Swanson
This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.
Sameer Callahan
It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
Cassandra
Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.
jackbenimble
Koyla started out full of promise and had my full attention in the beginning. There's a fair bit of suspense and fun as we try to work out who our man is and how his womanising is going to turn out. There's a fair bit of humour and nice cinematography and you get a nice feel for the country. But then after Kolya the boy turns up it starts to get a bit slushy. There are some nice tender moments but for me it all got too much and you need some drama to balance that out. Only when our man is being interrogated do we get any further suspense. But from then on it's just more of the same, nice filming, child caring and 'sweet' moments but it all got too much for me after a while and I began tuning out. The main actor didn't really express much range of emotion either and he and the film just began to come off as a bit one dimensional as the film dragged to its predictable conclusion.
bandw
This is a variation on the theme of an older man whose emotional life is reawakened by his being thrust into unexpected parenting of a young child. Many have complained of the exploitation of such time-worn subject matter, but the worth of "Kolya" lies in the particulars of how its themes are developed. After all there are still good movies made about underdog sports teams prevailing, and even the exact same material (thinking Shakespeare here) can be made fresh through different productions.The man in question here is Frantisek Louka, the place is the Czech Republic, and the time is 1988 (just prior to the "Velvet Revolution"). Financial constraints tempt Louka to enter into a bargain to marry a Russian woman so she can get Czech citizenship and, it turns out, escape to West Germany to be with her lover. This leaves Louka to care for the child "Kolya." One thing that makes this movie stand out is the quality of the acting by all involved. In particular Andrei Chalimon as the Russian child is very natural and will win your heart as he does Louka's. But it's a slow process.Another thing that sets this off is the political backdrop. I knew about Russia's occupation of the Czech Republic after World War II and the non-violent overthrow of the Communist government in 1989, but that is about as far as my knowledge went. This movie portrays what it was like to live in that environment in a concrete way that a history book cannot. A lot of little scenes exemplify the underlying tensions, such as Louka's being expected to display both the Czech and Russian flags in his window, Louka's mother refusing to let some Russian soldiers in to wash their hands by lying about her having no water, and Louka's purposeful refusal to learn the Russian language. So, this movie provided a small increment in my knowledge of Czech history and that's better than nothing. How the political situation drives the action makes for a singularly interesting story.The musical score that contains works by the Czech composers Dvořák, Suk, Fibich, and Smetana adds a special quality.Don't be turned away from seeing this because it touches on familiar themes; it is a quality film with unique characteristics.
Jugu Abraham
I am neither Czech nor European. I grew up appreciating the fine Czech cinema of Milos Forman, Jan Kadar and Jiri Menzel. While "Kolya" is refreshing compared to American standards, it lacks the maturity of say Kadar's "Lies my father told me" (Golden Globe winner for best foreign film in 1976) made in Canada—a film in English with a Czech heart and soul or Forman's "Loves of a blonde" (also about music and musicians).Czech cinema gives a lot of importance to classical Western music. In "Kolya," the emphasis is on Dvorak's Biblical songs—"The Lord is my shepherd" being one. The film might not appear to be religious but interestingly many of Czech filmmakers seem to use religion without making it obvious. (In neighboring Poland, Kieslowski loved to do this to the extent that he made a series of 10 films called "Dekalog" linked to the Ten Commandments.) In the film the child inexplicably swears "Jesus Christ" in Russian. The underlying analogy of a child redeeming the life of wayward adults with no purpose in life is not a surprising turn for east European directors who couch religion in non-religious ambiance. Is it a coincidence that church steeples are visible from the windows and crosses are drawn by a child? As a film, this is at best a good Czech film--nothing more. There have been better Czech films unknown to American and West European audiences.
hugh jass
THis movie is great! all of the actors should be frozen to be kept alive, it such a great story. It's about a playboy who gets stuck with a four year old boy for two weeks. in the beginning the only time they interacted was when they slept in the same bed, but by the end they couldn't be separated. if you've consider seeing this movie, you should!!!!!!! it is incredible!!!! it has such emotion, when it was over i just sat there for two hours, just thinking and sometimes crying, but golly gee it is so great. i can't believe anyone could not enjoy this. even satin himself would have to take his pitchfork out of someones heart and sit down and think about the values of this movie. it is so good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it truly deserves all of those exclamation points.
