Ojciec Szpiler

The only reason The Priest's Children can wrap itself in above-average ratings on FilmBooster is that the Croatian language bears a striking resemblance to the Czech language, and thus only arouses deep frustration over how no one can manage to put together a summer comedy in this country, at least like this one. Otherwise, though, it’s not worth crap. Brešan is not a good director, a fact that is most apparent through the poor editing and the accompanying unsuccessful timing of the jokes. He's unable to highlight the various supporting characters at the right time, so he helps himself by having them all wear the same outfits over and over throughout the film, which is pretty ridiculous given that the film takes place over the course of more than a year. It's that temporal sprawl that also denies the picturesqueness and nostalgia of the intended time period, which is otherwise the biggest domain of summer comedies. The film eventually scores points in the moments when the filmmakers' brakes on taste and correctness go out, and yet in this respect the film exhausts itself almost entirely in its first half. (15.10.2014)

It is almost a rule for the Balkans that they can turn a serious story into a total farce, which makes you laugh whether you want to or not. Nevertheless, The Priest’s Children do it exactly the opposite way. When it comes to the story, it is a great comedy, which I at times consider unnecessarily tragic. Well, that’s the Balkans. I think I haven’t seen a single movie of theirs that isn’t at least a little bit tragic. Anyway, I still really enjoyed the The Priest’s Children. With the arrival on a small Dalmatian island I remembered every time I travelled to Croatia and I immediately felt great. I don’t know about you, but for me, their islands are like a small visit to heaven, although the locals probably have a different opinion about that. Nevertheless, the locations made me so excited about the film that I had to watch it again the following day. That’s how happy this movie made me. (21.06.2014)

It is obvious that this film from the Balkans arouses quite controversial and, in many cases, hesitant and significantly negative reactions. In my opinion, this stems from two facts. Firstly, for quite some time, The Priest's Children presents itself as a lighthearted summer comedy with somewhat provocative themes. However, in the second half, serious tones quietly start creeping in, which eventually leads to tragic moments. In short, you are dealing with a tragicomedy. Understandably, an appropriately tuned viewer will find it difficult to digest. Secondly, the film openly plays with human sexuality and tackles taboo topics using folk humor, which seems somewhat sacrilegious to appreciators of high art. For me, it deserves an honest 4 stars and my overall impression is 85%. It did not disappoint, but there's still something noticeably lacking that prevents it from achieving perfection. (23.06.2019)

A million-dollar idea set on a picturesque Croatian coast. Sunny exteriors, a relaxing atmosphere conveyed in a fresh Balkan manner, comical characters, humor of both a plebeian and intelligent nature (great jabs at the Church). A perfect break from super-serious festival dramas, as well as tasteful and at a high filmmaking level. (05.07.2013)

A folk comedy and exactly the type of film Zdeněk Troška will never make. This is a film that has a lot of humor flowing from the screen. I have never seen such imaginatively-processed running-jokes. Yet what surprises me most is that most films like this lose steam in the second third, only to moralize in the final third. Here they keep it going to the very end. A standing ovation for the filmmakers is well deserved. (04.07.2013)