Comment noyer le Docteur Mracek ou la fin des ondins en Bohême

Transmission through sexual contact or transfusion is the same for the humanity virus as it is for HIV, except here you should also watch out for bloody head cheese. This water world was portrayed so strangely that its absorption by socialism was inevitable, and it's a shame that the script didn't allow the array of excellent actors (from the traditionally tearful Zdeněk Řehoř to the arch-villain Miloš Kopecký) anything more than just clocking out at the union office at 2:30. I just thought of something. Yes, Bedrna is phenomenal, Zavřel is a matter of habit, and the possibility wasn't even hypothetical, but Menšík would have been a great voice actor for Homer Simpson. (05/12/2022)

"Scrr... scrr... screeeech!" If they'd worked more with the inner universe of mythical creatures against a background of contemporary sets in the style of Hastrmann: The Masquerade, it could have been groundbreaking at the time in the context of all subsequent Blades and Underworlds. Sadly, all that came out of it was a rather tired tendentious merry-go-round that takes from the normal world only the worst parts. In other words, socialism without inclusivity, where any deviation from "the norm" is considered a bourgeois remnant requiring reindoctrination, which here can be provided by, among other things, a bite of the proletarian apple of knowledge – a parchment. In a world whose only sanctioned way out is to work and reproduce to the rhythm of Vondráčková and Neckář, it is logical that the object of the protagonist's love interest has two character roles – "My little carp". and "Look, if you're still mad about yesterday, then calm down". And the film doesn't shake its fist at him for either of them. (08/07/2022)

I just love this movie. It's beautifully playful and quirky, yet it also has a coherent storyline. There are plenty of gags, whether involving a dog or the mischievous water sprite, which are great seasoning for the film. And in all of that, absolutely fantastic Czech actors play their roles. I loved this movie as a kid, and nothing has changed after all these years. (07/11/2014)

How to use a comedy to turn fairy tale creatures into cult figures, a.k.a. the ultimate screenwriting brainstorm. (03/07/2005)

After a long time, I decided to rewatch this film about water spirits fighting for their right to live in a house with a very damp cellar. It wasn’t until today that I realized it was, in fact, about a resistance group run by the imperialist West that didn't hesitate to take the life of many a comrade. The creators cunningly disguised it using conscious ideological references, but I have finally called their bluff today. But seriously - it wasn’t the funniest of Czechoslovak comedies, but I still enjoy it and it definitely wasn’t boring. (25/12/2019)