I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Well... how shall I put it? If you want some poetry about the human soul and there is no book available go and see Kolya. In a world voided of any human personality, needs, hopes only kindness can touch and heal. And who in this world can show all this better than a kid. Take your time and go for a stroll in the sunshine of humanity. I can only write five lines. I can only write five lines. I can only write five lines. I can only write five lines. I can only write five lines.I can only write five lines. I can only write five lines.I can only write five lines. I can only write five lines.I can only write five lines. I can only write five lines.

I just watched this film for the sixth or seventh time and I ended, as always with tears running down my cheeks. It is astonishing how all the bad comments here, are almost exclusively posted by Czech people and, the strongest argument of almost everyone, is that there are other better Czech films out there; most of them referring to the New Wave of the 60's and 70's. Furthermore what is very interesting is that most of the people that have posted their critique, whether it is good or bad, mention the fact that it won the Oscar. For you who don't like the film and state that there were better films, if they were Czech films in the past, or that the other films that were nominated the same year were in fact better, you contradict yourselves since most of you acknowledge, just as I do, that the Oscars are just a waste of space and time but, at the same time you state that another movie was so much more worthy of the price. Everyone knows that the Oscars are all about political correctness and praising movies that treat subjects that are hot, or just on the agenda, for the moment. However, not any too deep or too subversive subjects are welcome; the most important issue is still selling the movie, so no real surprises can be accepted. And the fact that the movie takes place in a communist, Warsaw-treaty country, just when the wall is about to fall down, and the whole communist project with it, is definitely the main reason for why it won the Oscar. Anyway...if we just disregard of any external factors when looking at this movie, I can't really see how anyone can dislike it. I have to say, I am not Czech born, but I am Swedish born with a Czech mother and a Slovak father, and my knowledge of the Czech and Slovak languages is quite good. I understand most of what I hear but I don't speak very well. But, even for me, I realize that so much of this movie is lost if you don't know the language, the history, the culture etc. of Czech, Slovak, Russian or any of the central European countries. I laugh and cry throughout the whole movie, but maybe it has to do with my incomplete knowledge of the language and, the fact that I have a very nostalgic approach towards this movie or much of the Czech or Slovak movies I see.Yes I agree, that there are some banal elements in the film and that the creators may have consulted various Hollywood people in order to make it more fathomable and appealing to the US market.However....the movie is not boring, it is not overly melodramatic, and since it doesn't pretend to make any deeper comments or analysis on how it was to live under authoritarian communist rule, it is merely making minor humoristic observations on some of the absurdities in the day to day life that emerged within such a society. And also, may it be cliché and banal, that we are all people and that no one wanted what had become of the Communist Party apparatus and its since long lost global socialist revolution, whether it be Russian, Czech, Slovak or any other of the included. I am not saying that what replaced it was some kind of salvation, but at least, people are free to think and act. Most of the comments from Americans here in IMDb are very naive and quite hollow, especially when it comes to these Oscar-winning, real life political movies. If you go and look at the comments about the movie "Hotel Rwanda" for example, there is a huge amount of people, almost exclusively US citizens, who have given it 10 out of 10, and many state that the movie has "opened there eyes", or "made them reevaluate the meaning of life". I myself think it is a horrible movie, with it sole purpose to clean the conscience of the western world and the entertainment industry. The extremely complex and intricate historical and political aspects of the conflict were hardly mentioned, and the only emotions that it wanted to awake in the viewer, was guilt and pity. I am sorry for straying from the subject here, but I just wanted to somehow, even though I am aware that it has been done kind of vaguely, make my point which is that a movie doesn't have to dig as deep as it can, if that is not its aim. The story in Kolya is quite ordinary, but what is important is that to love and care for those who are in need of it, is not absent in any of us (obviously with the exception of sociopaths, and those who suffer from various mental disorders). And that is what, may it be at sometimes too obvious and cliché, the two Sveraks have accomplished. And obviously the little boy is such a big part of the whole feeling, he is absolutely brilliant. He breaks my heart every time I watch the scenes of when his spirit, albeit a very strong one, brakes down. And to you, I think you were a Brit, that thought the movie was too sentimental, and that the scene where Kolya tries to ring his Babushka in the bathtub, was ridiculous; I just wonder, where is your heart? A little boy losing his whole foundation just like that, having to live with a strange man in a strange place where (almost) no one understands you, even though his spirit is strong, suddenly breaking down and calling for his grandmother.... I thought that scene was very emotional, and that is what is the strength of the whole movie, meaning that it never tries to play on the pity of us viewers. Kolya almost never whines or cries but, when he does it's because he really can't take it anymore.

This is a variation on the theme of an older man whose emotional life is reawakened by his being thrust into unexpected parenting of a young child. Many have complained of the exploitation of such time-worn subject matter, but the worth of "Kolya" lies in the particulars of how its themes are developed. After all there are still good movies made about underdog sports teams prevailing, and even the exact same material (thinking Shakespeare here) can be made fresh through different productions.The man in question here is Frantisek Louka, the place is the Czech Republic, and the time is 1988 (just prior to the "Velvet Revolution"). Financial constraints tempt Louka to enter into a bargain to marry a Russian woman so she can get Czech citizenship and, it turns out, escape to West Germany to be with her lover. This leaves Louka to care for the child "Kolya." One thing that makes this movie stand out is the quality of the acting by all involved. In particular Andrei Chalimon as the Russian child is very natural and will win your heart as he does Louka's. But it's a slow process.Another thing that sets this off is the political backdrop. I knew about Russia's occupation of the Czech Republic after World War II and the non-violent overthrow of the Communist government in 1989, but that is about as far as my knowledge went. This movie portrays what it was like to live in that environment in a concrete way that a history book cannot. A lot of little scenes exemplify the underlying tensions, such as Louka's being expected to display both the Czech and Russian flags in his window, Louka's mother refusing to let some Russian soldiers in to wash their hands by lying about her having no water, and Louka's purposeful refusal to learn the Russian language. So, this movie provided a small increment in my knowledge of Czech history and that's better than nothing. How the political situation drives the action makes for a singularly interesting story.The musical score that contains works by the Czech composers Dvořák, Suk, Fibich, and Smetana adds a special quality.Don't be turned away from seeing this because it touches on familiar themes; it is a quality film with unique characteristics.

For a lecherous old man who fairly wallows in his own lechery, who "fiddles at funerals" and touches up tombstones, the introduction of a wife (however temporary) and a step-son who doesn't even speak the same language proves most inconvenient. As it no doubt would for most of us. The political schism only makes things worse. "Where you Russians march," he tells his young charge, "you stay." It's a statement (especially when made to so young a child) that's as harsh as it is funny. It's learning to communicate (and to love) that ultimately matters. Differences (especially in ideologies) are, in the final analysis, insignificant. Early on in the film, driving past a trio of young women he is ogling, the boy's unsuspecting, yet-to-be step-father doesn't bother to turn to look at their faces as he passes. His companion does, and remarks that their fronts don't hold up to their backs. "I didn't look back," the old man says: "So, for me, they'll be beautiful forever." In his dealings with the boy, KOLYA, he learns to look beyond the superficial- and, in the end, can't help but look back.