Toman

Though Toman is a high-quality work in terms of production (cast, staging, period atmosphere), it is interesting only for quite a restricted audience, among which I do not belong. The main character’s personal life outlines the narrative, but 90% of it is devoted to chattering and plotting among politicians. I did not enjoy it despite the historical significance of the events depicted, the decent character portrayals and the interesting, dazzling mosaic of diverse political beliefs, motivations and moral values. (17.11.2018)

Aren’t there too many of these political period dramas? Right? There was A Prominent Patient, Dubček, quite recently Rašín and currently Toman, for a change. This person was, I admit, unfamiliar to me. I was expecting an espionage thriller, so something that isn’t completely common in our country. Well, I partially got it. The film really radiates great quality. After all, Ondřej Trojan isn’t a director who would leave the filming of his ideas up to chance. Quite the opposite. Rather, I had a problem with the fact that the first half of the film is too historically factual and at the same time very little film-like. The film-like quality appears only about after 2 thirds of the movie, where I really started to get excited by the dynamic character of the movie and at the same time, I had to admit that the historical factuality has its place here. I think it’s really hard to make a movie based on history and explaining the historical context in a way that would make sense. Here, the movie sacrificed its first half to it, but it was justified in the end. After the film, my friend and I talked and wondered whether Toman was a good person. That’s a question every viewer probably has to answer on their own. In truth, we didn’t figure it out. The only thing that really got to us were the actions of the communist party after the year 1945 and consequently in 1948. I am not going to spoil anything, but I felt really sick. Toman thus definitely deserves the attention it is getting. I just feel like it will have something to say mainly to us and the Slovaks and it won’t catch on in Europe. Well… I might be wrong. (19.10.2018)

This ambitious project about a man who did business with everyone after World War II and helped bring about the Communist takeover unfortunately tries too hard to be true to reality at the expense of entertainment. Two and a half hours is really too much, especially when there's not much interesting stuff going on most of the time, and it's repetitive to boot. The excellent final quarter shows that this could have been not only the story of a not very well known but important man, but a really good, entertaining and engaging film. (05.10.2018)

It's not that Toman doesn't have a number of shortcomings that can be pointed out, but even with the knowledge of their existence, the film ultimately turned out to be one of the most pleasant encounters with Czech cinema in recent years. History is of long-term interest to me, making this an excellent prequel to the fourth and fifth parts of the TV series Czech Century. The more you know about the events of the first post-war years and the personalities (mostly repugnant creatures) of the then-ruling elite, the more you will enjoy the film. I have no problem with the fact that Toman is not actually the protagonist in Trojan's film, but rather the period of the rise of the Communist Party, which ends with the seizure of power and the establishment of the "people's democracy." The representatives of the regime are not anonymous names to me, but rather specific historical figures whose actions I am familiar with and to whom the actors simply gave a face. I am willing to forgive Trojan's minor deviations from history this time, because his excursion into the past corresponds to the given era, and it is certainly not a farce like Identity Card. If there is any flaw worth mentioning, it is the casting of Jiří Macháček in the lead role. His naive (non)acting works at the local theater but with this demanding role, which requires strong character acting. Understandably, he does not handle it well and seems out of place. Overall impression: 75%. (18.11.2019)

I had to get used to Jiří Macháček, because, especially from the beginning of the film, he spoke every now and then in a style that would fit more into a parody, but I got used to it and I'm glad. Toman entertained me thanks to him, and thanks to the amazing Kateřina Winterová, in a way that I would have liked if the film had continued for a few dozen more minutes. It was only in the end that things began to happen that I did not expect. It's admittedly well shot until then, but (whether you know something about the real Toman or not) it’s actually quite a predictable story that resembles a film version of Czech Century (and I mean that as compliment). (21.11.2020)

It’s not bad at all. Toman was a very interesting figure and an ideal guide to the period of the blossoming of the Communist Party, because he was not exactly a model party member. The film is meticulous in its familiarity with the political mood and actors of the time and covers enough twists and motivations in the space of three years to never get boring despite the long runtime. This is despite the fact that the story and the direction seem too mechanical and that the preferred descriptive nature of the intimate narrative doesn’t let the plot escalate in an interesting way – it’s rather a sequence of many episodes connected by the titular character that form a complex study of communist practices, instead of the strong story of an individual I was hoping for (the latter only comes to the fore at the end, when all the previous lines have been closed or diverted into irrelevant digressions). It's a pity about the tendency to simplify everything (one example – weird introductory titles) in order to present so much information, because Trojan otherwise handles the concept well. I liked that they didn't want to pander to the comfort of viewers who have seen too many American biopics, and I was intrigued by the portrayal of Toman's ambiguous, emotionally distant character (which Macháček doesn't enrich with his austere acting, but surprisingly doesn't diminish either). The verdict is a strong 3*. (04.10.2018)

If I hadn't read a book about the Slánský trial last week, I would have given "only" four stars. Now that I know all the high-ranking officials (paradoxically, the only character who was unfamiliar to me was the protagonist), it makes the story even more relatable. I found the film really interesting with all the manipulations and intrigue of an organization that devoured its members like Saturn his children. Plus, the creators also managed to create a perfectly bleak atmosphere. (02.05.2019)