"Beauty in Trouble" *** 1\2 (out of ****)
I noticed recently that so many of the imports we are getting this year are coming from France. There was Catheine Breillat's "The Last Mistress", the recent "A Christmas Tale", "Fear(s) of the Dark", Claude Lelouch's "Roman de Gare", Jacques Rivette's "The Duchess of Langeais", Claude Chabrol's "A Girl Cut in Two" and "Flight of the Red Balloon" among others. Why is this I thought to myself? Why no films from Romania, Hungary, Russia or Poland? Jan Hrebejk's "Beauty in Trouble" from the Czech Republic is a welcomed treat. It is one of the year's best films.
I never would have guessed such a film like "Beauty in Trouble" would come from Hrebejk. He directed the Oscar nominated "Divided We Fall" and the outrageous comedy "Up & Down". I have not seen "Divided" but "Up & Down", the story of a traveling orphan, was such a broad attempt at comedy, that a film as delicate and human as "Beauty in Trouble" seems out of place for Hrebejk.
The film takes us back to 2002, Prague, amid a severe flood which has devastated the city. Marcela (Anna Geislerova) and her husband, Jarda (Roman Luknar), had their home destroyed. To make up for this, Jarda has resorted to stealing cars and stripping them.
Their luck is about to change though when one of Jarda's co-workers steals a Volvo which belongs to Evzen Benes (Josef Abrham), which had a satelite tracking device. Now with Jarda in jail, Marcela is faced with difficult problems. She and Jarda were not getting along before he went to jail. She had been living with her mother, along with her two children. She is not sure if she should divorce him or not. And what should she tell her children? Her mother, Zdena (Jana Brejchova), tells her to leave her husband and lie to the children, telling them their father is out of town on business. And do Marcela writes letters, pretending to be Jarda explaining he is in India.
Living at her mother's place is not ideal. Zdena husband Richard (Jiri Schmitzer), does not seem to like Marcela or her children. He constantly disciplines them behind Zdena's back, in the most cruel ways. When one of the children forgets to take out the trash, he throws it all over them while they are sleeping. If that is not enough Jarda's mother Liba (Emilia Vasaryova), pleads with Marcela not to divorce her son. It would be wrong in the eyes of God.
Things seem to have hit a low for Marcela until she meets Benes at a police station. At first he does not know her relationship to Jarda, but when he finds out he is not in the least bit affected. Taken away by her beauty, he offers to help her and her children.
Benes has returned to Prague, after living in Italy, to reclaim his family's house, which was taken over by the Communist in 1956 ('56 also carried a special meaning for Hungarians as well).
Marcela is now confronted with two choices, which offer two extremely different lifestyles. Live with Benes, who is wealthy and kind to her children or stay with Jarda and hope he has changed his ways.
The "beauty" suggested in the film's title offers multiple meanings. It could refer to Marcela - a beautiful woman in trouble. Or beauty could be Prague, which has suffered after the floods. Or beauty could be our way of life, which is in trouble.
Anna Geislerova is the real reason to watch this movie. At first I was completely taken away by her beauty. She is stunningly beautiful, but she makes Marcela a real character. Not a cliche, a newly divorced woman with two children. The audience can relate to her. The film doesn't go to extreme ends. It seems realistic and treats its characters and their situations with intelligence.
For a story that has such serious consequences I was surprised how easily humor finds its way in the story. No matter how grim we may think our lives are there is always room for laughter.
Some viewers may wonder why does Marcela have such a difficult choice anyway? Jarda is a criminal. Benes is a wealthy man who can provide for her. Her choice shouldn't be that difficult. But the one thing Jarda has going for him is that the sex between him and Marcela is amazing. In an early scene we see and hear them make love. She screams violently while her children are in their bedroom holding their ears. We never see Marcela and Benes, who is much older than her, in an intimate situation. Though I just assume the sex is not the same between them. When Marcela does she Jarda again, after he is released from prison, they sleep together. Like wild animals they rip each other's clothes off.
Viewers may not like Marcela's choice in the end. I think it was perfect. It shows us when it comes to love there is no "all good" or "all bad". No choice is perfect. No one person can offer us everything we want in a relationship. The film's ending suggest the power of sex. Marcela may never find complete happiness, but who among us has. That's life.
[NOTE: Here in Chicago, the movie opened yesterday (Dec. 5), it has a limited run. It will be gone before the end of the week, (Dec. 11). I would strongly suggest holding off on more mainstream titles, which will probably have a longer run, and catch this movie while you still can.]
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