Up and Down

Alternately melancholy, hopeful, and humorous, Jan Hrebejk's 2004 Czech slice-of-life dramedy explores immigration and racism, Westernization and the black market, romantic devotion and bitterness, following a half-dozen loosely connected denizens of post-Communist Prague. One storyline places an abandoned gypsy infant in the arms of a barren, manically depressed young wife (Natasa Burger)--much to the dismay of her lunkheaded security guard ex-con husband (Jiri Machacek). Another segment follows a terminally-ill man (Jan Triska) who finds that a last-minute reconciliation with his long-abandoned wife (Emilia Vasaryova) and estranged son (Petr Forman) will not be an easy matter. A desire for escapism is a running theme in this emotionally complex, humor-tinged film, which reveals deep cracks in the personalities of its characters, but revels in their imperfect humanity: some learn and grow, some cling to the past, and some flirt with the larger world, before falling back into a rut. Director Hrebejk sees their lives as the story of his budding democratic country at the dawn of the 21st century. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include an 18-minute “making-of” featurette, the “Hello America” music video by Dan Barta, and trailers. Bottom line: a small but solid extras package for a solid foreign film.] (R. Blackwelder)