BANGER.

Une comédie punk sur des junkies, avec une kyrielle d’insultes et de répliques humoristiques et un dénouement dramatique qui lui donne un côté sérieux. Le montage créatif et la technique authentique de caméra dynamique portée à la main (smartphone) ne donnent pas seulement un élan solide au film, mais rendent également divertissante une histoire par ailleurs peu étoffée. Et ce même si les gros plans flous sur les visages sont trop appuyés pour le grand écran. La profondeur du jeu expressif de Mišík dans la dernière scène révèle le plus grand traumatisme de sa vie, lorsque, enfant, il voulait une glace et n’en a pas obtenu. Le spectateur appréciera d’autant plus le film s’il n’est pas familier avec le travail formellement similaire mais scénaristiquement plus abouti des frères Safdie (Uncut Gems notamment). (10/03/2023)

BANGER., c’est une nuit d’aventure à Prague filmée de manière incroyablement frénétique. C’est aussi un film très progressiste qui apporte un souffle nouveau agréable et surtout nécessaire sur le cinéma tchèque autrement empoussiéré. J’ai bien quelques réserves mineures et j’aurais tempéré certains passages et enfoncé le clou par endroits, mais l’un dans l’autre, c’est un trip haut en énergie, dynamique, avec une réalisation qui a du caractère et un jeu d’acteurs authentique. [KVIFF 2022] (19/07/2022)

Le film qui se démarque le plus des productions tchèques de 2022 et qui divisera sans doute le plus les générations – du moins pour ce qui est du langage. Les gens de plus de 40 ans auront du mal à comprendre, ceux de plus de 50 ans encore plus et au-delà, il faudra peut-être tout miser sur les sous-titres. Je respecte l'innovation, mais la forme m'a dérangé. Par contre, l'histoire dans son ensemble avait du sens pour moi. Je craignais qu'il ne s'agisse d'un rap pathétique par un individu friand de piss action qui déverse sa colère tout autour de lui. En matière d'interprétation, on est loin d’égaler Arvéd ; Mišík et Bendig font pâle figure par rapport à Kern et Rašilov, même si la comparaison est à nouveau difficile. Mais qu'un tel film ait vu le jour est certainement une bonne chose. (02/03/2023)

This subculture is completely alien to me, for example, I had no idea about the existence of that funny painted tough guy until Wednesday. The theme and characters of BANGER. went really over my head, but I still have to appreciate that such a film has been made here in Czechia. The screenplay as a whole makes sense (though I have problems with certain details), the performances are fine, and the comedic timing of the dialogue exchanges between Mišík and Bendig is top-notch. I'd ease up on the memes, though. (56th KVIFF) (10/07/2022)

A bit of a disappointment for me. The overall look of the film is quite amateurish, but that's forgivable. The acting is okay. Adam Mišík's performance is authentic and Marsell Bendig is the best thing about the film, even if he was hard to understand at times. Story-wise, it's simple and I was hoping the film would both be about more characters and go more to the extreme. I was expecting a proper rave party and even in terms of drugs it's not as intense as European or American films. This progressive form is welcome Czech cinema, but a film like Vyšehrad was completely different in every way. 6/10. (08/03/2023)

Dancer in the Dark, Pusher, Safdie’s Good Time with a gem, and Barry Lyndon. A hypnotic Friday quintet with which Adam Sedlák forcefully tackles his version of The Prestige. Much like in Domestique, the characters become victims of their unfulfilled ambitions, and this time he makes sure to deliver on emotion. It’s uncomfortably physical, funny (with verbal sparring with the bouncer Míra), without any attempts to moralize something as common as cocaine use, and with a perfectly set-up dilemma of whether the dealer with a conscience will end up pissing or shitting himself on stage. Adam Mišík may not be Mads Mikkelsen, but here he significantly limited his mole-like perspective on the noonday sun and fit well into the non-acting pair with Marsell Bendig. (30/05/2023)

Rap passes me by in a giant arc and I'm not a fan of handheld cameras, yet BANGER. won me over and I was extremely impressed. It's basically one incredibly wild and frantic ride that works almost perfectly from start to finish. A big part of this is the fact that the film is shot on an iPhone and that the action takes place over the course of a few hours. Thanks to the original insertions and the novel visual concept, this is an extraordinary experience in the context of Czech cinema. When it comes to the acting, I was most entertained by Marsell Bendig (I even thought he was Jan Bendig for a good part of the film), he truly amazed with his performance. Towards the end, the film reminded me of Coal Tower, but it was qualitatively on another level. (27/09/2022)

I hate Adam Mišík, I hate Czech cinema and I hate filming on a mobile camera. And, world wonder, all my skepticism is gone and the result is much better than I could have expected. It's hard to say if it's because there are (non-)actors instead of Czech actors, so there’s none of that “intense” acting, but natural acting resulting from the situations, or because BANGER is simply bold at first sight. Because to come up with the simple idea of "a budding rapper's path to stardom", with a damn fine performance by Mišík (I applaud him, I didn’t believe in him at all, but he pulled this one off flawlessly), to conjure a literal BANGER out of nothing takes talent. I had a great time and Marsell Bendig as the lead comedian pulls the film from dope drama to comic heights and I had a great time. EDIT: After two days, I have to up it to a full score because the whole film is still resonating with me, from Mišík and his chilling performance to the stunning visuals to the main soundtrack. Unreal. (28/09/2022)

BANGER. really surprised me... The environment depicted isn’t familiar to me, but Adam Sedlák managed to film it in a way that made me experience all the main character’s struggles alongside him. Technically and direction-wise, the film meets the highest European standards (it’s quite amusing that a film shot on an iPhone outshines most of the competition on the Czech scene). The lead duo is very believable, and Marsell Bendig definitely earned himself more roles with this performance. For local standards, BANGER. holds up well script-wise and manages to surprise within its genre. And the ending is truly shocking (I didn’t expect Sedlák to take that direction... I tip my hat to him for his bravery). I have to agree with others. It’s one of the most progressive Czech films in recent times :). (13/03/2023)