The Ride

Jízda reste, pour moi, le meilleur film de Jan Svěrák, même si j’ai beaucoup aimé aussi Après l'hiver. La liberté, l’aventure, l’indépendance et l’aisance qui se dégagent de Jízda sont imbattables. Je crois que les acteurs aussi ont bien apprécié le tournage et je me souviens d’une interview où Geislerová déclarait que ses meilleures expériences cinématographiques étaient liées à Jízda. Et je me dois d’encore mentionner la magnifique chanson Mám jednu ruku dlouhou. (22/11/2008)

This Czech road film does not do much for me, although it is a very interesting film with decent actors and a good atmosphere. But apart from the notorious opening song and the feeling of driving "from nowhere to nowhere", there was nothing left in me, except perhaps a kind of reverberation of summer comfort and a few strange Pastrňák catchphrases. A good film that I'm not going to watch again... (18/05/2004)

From the times of Svěrák's 'Jízda,' we know that a film can be made in our country for just a million, but this encounter with a Czech road movie didn't offer much more. If I were to be critical, I would say that this is what perfect film emptiness looks like. Comparisons to 'Bezstarostná jízda' (The Ride), which were mentioned in several comments, seem almost offensive to me, and as a generational statement, 'Jízda' doesn't work at all. Simply put, it doesn't have much to offer; the music from the Buty band is too little for a cinematic experience. Overall impression: 30% (just to fit into 2 stars and not be accused of harming Czech cinema). (20/03/2015)

Without Buty, sulfur on matches, Jan’s Mazda is parked on the street. Capturing the spirit of the times through the lens of summer heat, inner freedom, and sometimes poser-like carefreeness fails in what defines the path. The characters. They were so insubstantial to me that, if it were possible, the wind would have blown them out through a skylight. Born to Be Mild. (15/12/2023)

Three turbulent elements that I definitely wouldn't want to know in real life, but in the movie I observed them fanatically. They all annoyed me, but the mood, in which music, summer, freedom, wantonness, and especially the nineties are all combined in the first few minutes, won me over. In any period before or after them, The Ride would probably just become an empty buddy movie, but after almost thirty years, it still has something to say. (27/01/2021)