Author: Daniel Glattauer
Original title: Die Wunderübung
Theatrical title: Zázračné cvičení
Language: Czech
Director: Vilma Cibulková
Genres: Comedy
Cast: Vilma Cibulková, Stanislav Lehký, Rostislav Trtík
Time: 110m
Premiere: January 22, 2015
Theater: Branické divadlo, Prague
Summary:
It is a minimalistic play with three characters, a constantly fighting
married couple and their couples therapist who resorts to unconventional
methods to fix their relationship.
About the author:
Daniel Glattauer is an Austrian writer and former journalist. He is best known for his dialogic epistolary novel Love Virtually (Gut gegen Nordwind) and its sequel Every Seventh Wave (Alle sieben Wellen).
Glattauer's novels and plays are inspired by his personal experiences, dealing with situations and themes constructed from memories of his time as a journalist and his psycho social counselor training. Glattauer's work is characterized by humor and romantic relationships, catering to the masses and leading some critics to find fault with a lack of depth to his novels.
About the play:
Valentin (Stanislav Lehký) and Joana (Vilma Cibulková) are seeking the help of a couples therapist (Rostislav Trtík). Soon however, it is clear that regular treatment is not sufficient for this couple, so rooted their contempt for each other and so deep the estrangement are. After some vague attempts, which only made the couple furious, the therapist goes for a drastic exercise, which might not be successful at all.
Themes:
Family problems and misunderstanding: This topic was pictured by the author with all the skills. The dialogs and monologues are so strong and passionate that it makes you sometimes think how two people can be driven to such misunderstanding and coldness in a marriage. A couple which is not able to sit together and talk calmly without shouting and accusing each other. Years together tought them to know soft spots and where it hurts the most.
Final thoughts:
I must confess, that the play itself is very good and I really appreciate the dialogues, development of the characters and passion and temperature rising. Unfortunately, I cannot say that I thoroughly enjoyed the performance of the actors. It is not that the actors were not talented, but I had a slight feeling of artificial uneasiness in their presentation.
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Monday, March 27, 2017
April 2017| most anticipated movies
April is going to be a poor month for new movie releases.
6 April 2017
Name: Power Rangers
Cast: Elizabeth Banks, Bryan Cranston, Becky G.
Time: 124m
Genres: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Country: Canada, USA
Language: English
High school outcasts stumble upon an old alien ship, where they acquire superpowers and are dubbed the Power Rangers. Learning that an old enemy of the previous generation has returned to exact vegenance, the group must harness their powers and use them to work together and save the world.
Name: The Fifth Ship
Cast: Vanessa Szamuhelova, Matus Bacisin, Katarina Kamencova
Time: 90m
Genres: Drama, Family
Country: Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary
Language: Czech, Slovak
The story of a child's adventure. It's a story of children who feel safer in the streets than at home, about children seeking out sturdy lifeboats that cross between the world of fantasy and the harsh reality of life. Jarka is one of these children. Ten years-old, and living with a mother who is not yet ready to be a Mum, Jarka spends most of her time alone. Pushed by her desire for love and to form a fully functional family, she finds herself substituting a "mother" to two babies.
27 April 2017
Name: The Salesman
Cast: Taraneh Alidoosti, Shahab Hosseini, Babak Karimi
Time: 125m
Genres: Drama, Thriller
Country: Iran, France
Language: Persian, English
Forced to leave their collapsing house, Ranaa and Emad, an Iranian couple who happen to be performers rehearsing for Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" rent a new apartment from one of their fellow performers. Unaware of the fact that the previous tenant had been a woman of ill repute having many clients, they settle down. By a nasty turn of events one of the clients pays a visit to the apartment one night while Ranaa is alone at home taking a bath and the aftermath turns the peaceful life of the couple upside down.
6 April 2017
Name: Power Rangers
Cast: Elizabeth Banks, Bryan Cranston, Becky G.
Time: 124m
Genres: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Country: Canada, USA
Language: English
High school outcasts stumble upon an old alien ship, where they acquire superpowers and are dubbed the Power Rangers. Learning that an old enemy of the previous generation has returned to exact vegenance, the group must harness their powers and use them to work together and save the world.
Name: The Fifth Ship
Cast: Vanessa Szamuhelova, Matus Bacisin, Katarina Kamencova
Time: 90m
Genres: Drama, Family
Country: Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary
Language: Czech, Slovak
The story of a child's adventure. It's a story of children who feel safer in the streets than at home, about children seeking out sturdy lifeboats that cross between the world of fantasy and the harsh reality of life. Jarka is one of these children. Ten years-old, and living with a mother who is not yet ready to be a Mum, Jarka spends most of her time alone. Pushed by her desire for love and to form a fully functional family, she finds herself substituting a "mother" to two babies.
Name: The Salesman
Cast: Taraneh Alidoosti, Shahab Hosseini, Babak Karimi
Time: 125m
Genres: Drama, Thriller
Country: Iran, France
Language: Persian, English
Forced to leave their collapsing house, Ranaa and Emad, an Iranian couple who happen to be performers rehearsing for Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" rent a new apartment from one of their fellow performers. Unaware of the fact that the previous tenant had been a woman of ill repute having many clients, they settle down. By a nasty turn of events one of the clients pays a visit to the apartment one night while Ranaa is alone at home taking a bath and the aftermath turns the peaceful life of the couple upside down.
Sunday, March 26, 2017
Sunday Post #9, Behind the Schedule
The Sunday Post is hosted by The
Caffeinated Book Reviewer.
It’s a chance to share news, a post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase
books and things received, and share news about what is coming up on the blog
for the week ahead. To get in on the Sunday fun, see the rules here: Sunday Post Meme.Outside the Blog
Horrible blogging week! I was either later or did not publish all the posts I was going to this last week. I have a slim excuse as it was my last wee at work and I had to put all the projects in order and pass all the knowledge to my co-workers. So i was stressed and busy. In addition to it, on Saturday i have to go through quite an important Czech language exam, which also added some stress. At the end of each day I was so weary that I could not push myself to read or write anything. I hope next week will be better and I will pull myself together and write within my expected schedule.
Last Week on the Blog
This week: 20.03 - 26.03
- On Tuesday, 21st I review the play Run For Your Wife
- On Wednesday, 22th I publish WWW Wednesday and Library Loot
The week: 27.03 - 02.04
- On Monday, 27th I publish April 2017| most anticipated movies
- On Tuesday, 28st I review the play Magical Exercise
- On Wednesday, 29th I publish Top 5 Wednesday, March 29, Future Classics
- On Thursday, 30th I review 2 novellas by Ivan Turgenev (Asya; First Love)
- On Friday, 31st I review the movie The Passengers
I got 3 books from the library this week:
1. The Graveyard Book Volume 1 by Neil Gaiman. I was advised this book by a homeless looking guy, who saw that I was struggling with the graphic novel choice.
2. The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman
3. A Russian horror novel which I loosely translate as Dogheaders by Alexey Mavrin. I do not believe it is translated in English, but the book has some recognition in Russian book tube, so I will see what it has to propose.
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
WWW Wednesday and Library Loot, March 22th
Description: WWW Wednesday is a weekly event where you share answers Below questions:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
I am currently reading 3 books:
1. I am still listening to A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler.
2. I have just started a short story collection A Slow Boat to China by Haruki Murakami. I am not sure if this collection was translated into English, at least I could not find the English version. I like the unique narration of Murakami and deliberate simplicity of the stories.
3. I have just started a short story collection A Sportsman's Sketches by Ivan Turgenev.
I have finished 3 books:
1. Last week I finished The Unmade Bed by Françoise Sagan.
2. I have finished novella Asya by Ivan Turgenev.
3. I have just finished a graphic novel The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman
I am planning to start with the following books:
1. Dogheaders by Alexey Mavrin
2. The Haunted Life by Jack Kerouac
3. The Graveyard Book Volume 1 by Neil Gaiman.
Description: Library Loot is a weekly event that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.
I got 3 books from the library this week:
1. The Graveyard Book Volume 1 by Neil Gaiman. I was advised this book by a homeless looking guy, who saw that I was struggling with the graphic novel choice.
2. The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman
3. A Russian horror novel which I loosely translate as Dogheaders by Alexey Mavrin. I do not believe it is translated in English, but the book has some recognition in Russian book tube, so I will see what it has to propose.
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Theater: Run for Your Wife
Author: Ray Cooney
Original title: Run For Your Wife: A Comedy
Theatrical title: Běž za svou ženou
Language: Czech
Director: Václav Luks, Jan Nosek Novák
Genres: Comedy
Cast: Andrea Bulišová, Barbora Mottlová, Jiří Racek, Václav Čížkovský
Time: 110m
Theater: Branické divadlo, Prague
Summary:
A taxi driver gets away with having two wives in different areas of London because of his irregular working schedule. Complication is piled upon complication as the cabby tries to keep his double life from exploding.
About the author:
Raymond George Alfred Cooney (born 30 May 1932) is an English playwright and actor. His biggest success, Run for Your Wife, ran for nine years in London's West End and is its longest-running comedy. He has had 17 of his plays performed there.
About the play:
A London taxi driver has two wives, not because he's any great lady-killer, but because he didn't want to upset the second woman who pursued him. It all works until he gets in a small accident, but then the police come around and he just can't get his story straight. That's pretty much the story on this funny little farce.
About the cast:
Unfortunately, I must say that I enjoyed a performance of only 3 out of 8 actors. Those are Václav Čížkovský (playing Stanley Gardner), Jiří Racek (playing John Brown) and (playing Mary Brown)
As though it was quite decent, the performance of Mr and Mrs Brown did not impress too much. I liked how they put emotions and they seemed quite natural, but still something was amiss, and that prevented me from enjoying their performance. Václav Čížkovský's execution, on the other hand, was impeccable. I was not able to recall any scene with him, where I would not enjoy his act, he skillfully masters his body and facial movement as well as his voice.
Two of the actors: Barbora Mottlová (playing Barbara Brown) and Martin Hartl (playing a reporter) irritated me a great deal. Especially the 5 second appearance of a reporter was so badly done, that I am still annoyed. It is surprising that such a small role can influence the perception of the play all together.
Final thoughts:
Overall, I find the comedy as a whole was a well done play that kept the attention of the audience at all times. I think it had great humor and it was nice humor with less of the door slamming and physical comedy than often goes with farce.
I liked the way how the play escalated from an uncomfortable situation to a complete nonsense with so many people involved and with so many cooked up explanations that you try to do your best to not to mix anything and not to join in the common madness on the stage. One hilarious predicament after another
Original title: Run For Your Wife: A Comedy
Theatrical title: Běž za svou ženou
Language: Czech
Director: Václav Luks, Jan Nosek Novák
Genres: Comedy
Cast: Andrea Bulišová, Barbora Mottlová, Jiří Racek, Václav Čížkovský
Time: 110m
Theater: Branické divadlo, Prague
Summary:
A taxi driver gets away with having two wives in different areas of London because of his irregular working schedule. Complication is piled upon complication as the cabby tries to keep his double life from exploding.
About the author:
Raymond George Alfred Cooney (born 30 May 1932) is an English playwright and actor. His biggest success, Run for Your Wife, ran for nine years in London's West End and is its longest-running comedy. He has had 17 of his plays performed there.
About the play:
A London taxi driver has two wives, not because he's any great lady-killer, but because he didn't want to upset the second woman who pursued him. It all works until he gets in a small accident, but then the police come around and he just can't get his story straight. That's pretty much the story on this funny little farce.
About the cast:
Unfortunately, I must say that I enjoyed a performance of only 3 out of 8 actors. Those are Václav Čížkovský (playing Stanley Gardner), Jiří Racek (playing John Brown) and (playing Mary Brown)
As though it was quite decent, the performance of Mr and Mrs Brown did not impress too much. I liked how they put emotions and they seemed quite natural, but still something was amiss, and that prevented me from enjoying their performance. Václav Čížkovský's execution, on the other hand, was impeccable. I was not able to recall any scene with him, where I would not enjoy his act, he skillfully masters his body and facial movement as well as his voice.
Two of the actors: Barbora Mottlová (playing Barbara Brown) and Martin Hartl (playing a reporter) irritated me a great deal. Especially the 5 second appearance of a reporter was so badly done, that I am still annoyed. It is surprising that such a small role can influence the perception of the play all together.
Final thoughts:
Overall, I find the comedy as a whole was a well done play that kept the attention of the audience at all times. I think it had great humor and it was nice humor with less of the door slamming and physical comedy than often goes with farce.
I liked the way how the play escalated from an uncomfortable situation to a complete nonsense with so many people involved and with so many cooked up explanations that you try to do your best to not to mix anything and not to join in the common madness on the stage. One hilarious predicament after another
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Sunday Post #8, Rainy Weekend
Last Week on the Blog
The week: 13.03 - 19.03
- On Monday, 13th I reviewed John Wick 2 and Moana movies
- On Tuesday, 14th I reviewed Shark's Fin And Sichuan Pepper by Fuchsia Dunlop
- On Wednesday, 15th I published WWW Wednesday and Library Loot
- On Thursday, 16th I reviewed the play Moment Of Weakness
The week: 20.03 - 26.03
- On Monday, 20th I publish my Bond Project overview
- On Tuesday, 21st I review the play Run For Your Wife
- On Wednesday, 22th I publish WWW Wednesday and Library Loot
- On Thursday, 23th I review 2 novellas by Ivan Turgenev (Asya; First Love)
- On Friday, 24th I review the movie The Passengers
I came across this book accidentally and I liked the blurb. Since I saw Sweet Bean movie where the topic of leprosy in Japan was raised up, I got quite emotional about it. And here there is a book about the journey to leper colonies in Siberia, and I wanted to read a book to see how the disease was treated in a different country.
Outside the Blog
Today on Sunday is the last chases of 2016–17 Biathlon World Cup. I enjoyed following it throughout the winter and a bit sad that it is over. I am not sure anything exciting will be in March and April, so I hope I will have more time for books.
I have finished the 3rd episode of BBC War and Peace and must admit that I start gradually love it. I hope I will write the review of my first reaction to the 1st episode, which was quite strong, and as soon as I finish the series review will defensively follow.
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Theatre: Moment Of Weakness
Author: Donald Churchill
Original title: Moment Of Weakness
Theatrical title: Chvilková slabost
Language: Czech
Director: Petr Hruška
Genres: Comedy
Cast: Petra Špalková, David Matásek, Sandra Černodrinská
Time: 120m
Premiere: 23. 9. 2016
Theater: Divadlo v Rytířské, Prague
This theatrical experience started quite funny. We arrived in time and went in to take our seats, when we found out that there were sitting two nicely dressed elderly ladies. The ladies provided their tickets, which clearly indicated our seats. I started to doubt my sanity and checked our tickets - the same seats. Overbooking can happen with airlines, but with the theater... So we rushed for the assistance of the theater staff. Three minutes later the stuff was checking ladies' and our tickets. The poor ladies have tickets for the same seats, same performance, same day of the weak, same date... but in the month time!! I felt so sorry for them, so much preparation and expectation and just to get to know that you are welcome to enjoy the play, but in a month from now. I think the stuff exchanged the ripped tickets and let them go. I felt a bit upset, I would try to find some spot for them, since they arrived and had the tickets, but what I know about theater policies))
Summary:
Audrey and Tony are a middle aged ex-couple meeting at their old weekend retreat to decide who gets what. Tony is re-married and expecting a baby with his new wife, while Audrey is planning to re-marry as well. Are these two exes really over each other?
About the author:
Donald Churchill was an English actor and playwright. He appeared in many film and television productions over a 35-year period and wrote several TV scripts.
His films included Barnacle Bill (1957), The Captain's Table (1959), Victim (1961), The Wild Affair (1964), Zeppelin (1971), The First Great Train Robbery (1979), Charlie Muffin (1979) and The Hound of the Baskervilles (1983) as Doctor Watson. On television he starred in Spooner's Patch (1980-1982) and appeared in Stanley and the Women (1991) and C.A.T.S. Eyes. His plays include Mixed Feelings, The Decorator, and Moments of Weakness.
About the play:
This is a comedy about modern marriage. Audrey and Tony are a middle aged ex-couple meeting at their old weekend retreat to decide who gets what. Tony is eager to get this matter cleared up. He has re-married and his new wife is pregnant. She has come along for the ride, but goes into labor and is rushed to the local hospital. Tony and Audrey are not able to say two words to each other without mutual accusations and abuse. But still he loves her and she still loves him. The question is will they ever admit this to each other and to themselves?
Themes:
Family love: It happens when two people just do not have what to say to each other after 20 years of marriage and fall apart. But sometimes they are just drifting apart my small misunderstanding, faults, impatience. They forget how to listen and feel compassion, they start demanding and take family well-being for granted, until the unexpected happens: one of them has enough and explodes and then the whole world falls apart, and not even the feeling of happiness, mutual love and blissful memories can repair the crack. Emotions are rising, passions are overwhelming, marriages are falling apart.
What can be more important then to avoid this situation in a loving family. To look after each other and listen to each other.
Final thoughts:
I truly enjoyed the play and the performance of the actors. I left with a happy feeling, not empty headed as usually after a comedy, but with the nice and enriching feeling of time spent with quality.
Original title: Moment Of Weakness
Theatrical title: Chvilková slabost
Language: Czech
Director: Petr Hruška
Genres: Comedy
Cast: Petra Špalková, David Matásek, Sandra Černodrinská
Time: 120m
Premiere: 23. 9. 2016
Theater: Divadlo v Rytířské, Prague
This theatrical experience started quite funny. We arrived in time and went in to take our seats, when we found out that there were sitting two nicely dressed elderly ladies. The ladies provided their tickets, which clearly indicated our seats. I started to doubt my sanity and checked our tickets - the same seats. Overbooking can happen with airlines, but with the theater... So we rushed for the assistance of the theater staff. Three minutes later the stuff was checking ladies' and our tickets. The poor ladies have tickets for the same seats, same performance, same day of the weak, same date... but in the month time!! I felt so sorry for them, so much preparation and expectation and just to get to know that you are welcome to enjoy the play, but in a month from now. I think the stuff exchanged the ripped tickets and let them go. I felt a bit upset, I would try to find some spot for them, since they arrived and had the tickets, but what I know about theater policies))
Summary:
Audrey and Tony are a middle aged ex-couple meeting at their old weekend retreat to decide who gets what. Tony is re-married and expecting a baby with his new wife, while Audrey is planning to re-marry as well. Are these two exes really over each other?
About the author:
Donald Churchill was an English actor and playwright. He appeared in many film and television productions over a 35-year period and wrote several TV scripts.
His films included Barnacle Bill (1957), The Captain's Table (1959), Victim (1961), The Wild Affair (1964), Zeppelin (1971), The First Great Train Robbery (1979), Charlie Muffin (1979) and The Hound of the Baskervilles (1983) as Doctor Watson. On television he starred in Spooner's Patch (1980-1982) and appeared in Stanley and the Women (1991) and C.A.T.S. Eyes. His plays include Mixed Feelings, The Decorator, and Moments of Weakness.
About the play:
This is a comedy about modern marriage. Audrey and Tony are a middle aged ex-couple meeting at their old weekend retreat to decide who gets what. Tony is eager to get this matter cleared up. He has re-married and his new wife is pregnant. She has come along for the ride, but goes into labor and is rushed to the local hospital. Tony and Audrey are not able to say two words to each other without mutual accusations and abuse. But still he loves her and she still loves him. The question is will they ever admit this to each other and to themselves?
Themes:
Family love: It happens when two people just do not have what to say to each other after 20 years of marriage and fall apart. But sometimes they are just drifting apart my small misunderstanding, faults, impatience. They forget how to listen and feel compassion, they start demanding and take family well-being for granted, until the unexpected happens: one of them has enough and explodes and then the whole world falls apart, and not even the feeling of happiness, mutual love and blissful memories can repair the crack. Emotions are rising, passions are overwhelming, marriages are falling apart.
What can be more important then to avoid this situation in a loving family. To look after each other and listen to each other.
Final thoughts:
I truly enjoyed the play and the performance of the actors. I left with a happy feeling, not empty headed as usually after a comedy, but with the nice and enriching feeling of time spent with quality.
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