Réalisation:
Tomáš HodanScénario:
Tomáš HodanPhotographie:
Jan Baset StřítežskýMusique:
Jakub KudláčActeurs·trices:
Kryštof Hádek, Oldřich Kaiser, Marek Adamczyk, Vladimír Pokorný, Judit Pecháček, Jan Hájek, Gabriela Pyšná, Vladimír Javorský, Jaroslav Plesl (plus)Résumés(1)
The Giant Mountains, 1913. At the start of a cross-country skiing competition Bohumil Hanč, the greatest Czech cross-country skier of his day, encounters the talented all-rounder Emmerich Rath, whose German origins have been a source of irritation for others throughout his life. The ill-fated race begins and the battle for first place ultimately becomes a battle for survival. Set against the backdrop of the bitterly cold but stunning mountain range, the film tells a dramatic tale of friendship that knows no national boundaries. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)
(plus)Critiques (6)
Poslední závod est un film de survie très bien filmé sur le plan technique. De plus, il se défend particulièrement bien dans le paysage cinématographique tchèque – ce qui vaut la peine d’être souligné. La seule – mais énorme – réserve que j’émettrai concerne le style narratif. C’est que Tomáš Hodan semble s’être surtout soucié de combiner harmonieusement deux lignes temporelles, au lieu de s’assurer que le moment clé de tout le drame soit raconté de façon efficace et compréhensible. Ainsi, des informations sont soustraites au spectateur au moment crucial pour être régurgitées plus tard par le biais d’un curieux flashback dans un flashback au cours duquel j’ai été – à raison – doublement désorienté dans une histoire par ailleurs claire et, au lieu d’un ressenti positif que j’aurais tiré de ce moment clé, je me suis retrouvé avec une flopée de questions en tous genres (D'où Vrbata débarque-t-il ainsi brutalement ? Quelle était sa motivation ? Pourquoi n'en a-t-il parlé à personne ? Pourquoi a-t-il fait don de son manteau, alors qu’il en avait besoin pour sa survie ? Quelle était la continuité temporelle dans ce segment ? Pourquoi a-t-il été absent pendant la plus grande partie du film, alors qu'il devient soudainement un personnage central ? Pourquoi Hodan sabote-t-il inutilement son propre film avec un stratagème scénaristique aussi bizarre ? ...). Un gâchis aussi stupide qu’inutile de la beauté d'un film tchèque sinon réussi et très intéressant, auquel je donnerai quand même quatre étoiles au final, mais sacré nom… ç’aurait pu être fait autrement !
()
Un beau weekend à Hluboká nad Vltavou nous a fait découvrir, à ma copine et moi-même, un petit cinéma intimiste dans lequel cette nouveauté tchèque était projetée. On n’a pas hésité parce que ce genre de film dans ce genre de cinéma, c’était la combinaison parfaite ! Et grâce à Poslední závod, notre weekend a commencé de façon bien agréable. Très bien joué, filmé, écrit et monté. La dernière demi-heure prend joliment au cœur. Un film tchèque de qualité.
()
A race between Czech and German skiers starts on the ridges of the Krkonoše Mountains. It's an honour, but it soon becomes a race for life and not everyone will make it to the finish line. The Last Race suffers slightly from the fact that it bites into a lot of interesting themes that it fails to develop properly, but at its core, it remains mainly a gritty and unexpectedly proper and intense survival thriller, with technical aspect that far surpass the Czech competition and stand out among the world's top in the genre.
()
A perfectly engaging film that manages to combine a sports flick, a survival drama, a study of Czech-German relations before the First World War and the dark years of the 1950s. Tomáš Hodan tells the story with equal confidence as a writer and as a director. The race is breathtaking, but it is far from just about that. Emerich Rath is rehabilitated a bit at the expense of Václav Vrbata, but even that is written and filmed so cleverly that it doesn't matter in the end. Kryštof Hádek and Oldřich Kaiser deservedly stand out from the cast, but you will also enjoy a lot of well played supporting roles from Judit Bárdos, Vladimír Javorský and Jaroslav Plesl. I appreciate that the filmmakers were so careful about historical accuracy and everything felt really authentic to me.
()
I am not a sports person, I first encountered the story of Hanč and Vrbata only thanks to The Last Race. I was lured to the cinema by the good trailer, the cast and the story from Czech history. I complain about some films needing to be shortened, but I would have welcomed an extra quarter of an hour in Hodan's film, as I found it to be abbreviated in some places, most noticeable in the line with Vrbata. To put aside my criticisms, I was surprised that while the frame story of the late 1950s revolved around Rath, the 1912-3 line was focused primarily on Hanč. Still, this is a quality film by Czech standards, and in addition to a strong (if at times abbreviated) and (literally) chilling story, it is also technically impressive, especially the cinematography and the remarkable musical score. Of the actors, I was most impressed by Kryštof Hádek and Oldřich Kaiser. A weaker four stars!
()
The story deserved more build-up. Maybe it should have concentrated less about the past and more about what happened to the central character's fate in the 1950s. Or maybe showed the absurdity of a man of German origin living in Bohemia and claiming to be Czech. A man who got in everybody's way while doing nothing wrong, just being who he was. The bizarreness of being involved in the filming of what he once personally experienced. So he knew how things were then, and how the communist propaganda presented everything differently than in reality. But then there is definitely enough build-up during the race itself. A deadly coldness and definite fatality ooze from it. IN A NUTSHELL: When frost gets under your fingernails even through the screen.
()
Annonces