Up and Down
Up and Down
| 16 September 2004 (USA)
Up and Down Trailers

Milan and Goran are two criminals who smuggle illegal immigrants. One night after they complete a smuggle, they discover that one of the immigrants has left a baby behind. Milan and Goran decide to sell the baby to Lubos and Eman, who are responsible for running an illegal baby adoption center. Lubos and Eman make attempts to sell the baby to Miluska and Frantisek, a barren couple.

Reviews
Hellen

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

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RipDelight

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

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Hadrina

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

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Marva-nova

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

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corigreer

This is an excellent movie with engrossing and intricate subplots. I wanted to find a movie that fit well with my cultural focus, and this movie does a great job highlighting the complexities surrounding Czech identity post-Communism, and how it sometimes clashes with immigration and globalization. All of the subplots fit together at the end and it will surprise you. Loved the humanness of it all.

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Mirek

The director Jan Hrebejk tried to make a film in the style of "Magnolia" by PTA...But...Up and down is just a some kind of derivation of Magnolia for average viewers from Czech republic. The script by Peter Jarchovský is stupid, boring, full of vulgarisms and directing is stupid too.By the way - Director of photography used very strange photo-filters (e.g. extremely yellow).The good side of this movie is acting. All actors are very good, especially Jaroslav Dusek or Jiri MachacekUp and down is a comedy, but it isn't any piece of humor in there. Up and down is a drama too, but without any dramatic scenes...No Up..only down...Sorry, fans of Hrebejk...

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htravis

"Horem pádem", stood up well to a second viewing, from DVD, a year later. I'd agree with the most favorable comments of others here. I'd add that the treatment of immigration, nativity, nationalism and personal identify, as it intersects with 4 fractured families, is witty, tender, and humane. Even some of the native criminal class gets an opportunity to make claims for justice, even if the latter is satirized.Did anyone mention the exceptional use of music, and how imaginatively the film is lit and shot? A team of artists at the top of its game collaborated on this film.

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jotix100

"Up and Down" presents a portrait of a country in transition. Director Jan Hrebejk is commenting on what he is seeing around him in the Czech Republic. After years of Soviet domination, the country has turned into a democracy where the old norms and the new reality clash with one another to produce an uncertain time in the country.There are basically three stories going on in the film. There is the Horecky family, who is in crisis. Then there is the young couple, unable to have children, and finally, we have the petty criminals intent in getting into all sorts of crime to further their interests.In a way, the film is a microcosm of a society that is adapting itself to the present reality of a free economy. Unfortunately, things appear to be chaotic as we take a look at the film. The old ideas and the new ones are in direct opposition. The older generation doesn't like what their country is being turned into. They watch in horror how all kinds of foreigners are invading their land, which seem to be a global problem, as illegal aliens want a piece of the capitalist pie.In a way, Martin, the returning son of Professor Horecky, sees a changed society, but wants no part of what he encounters. Having lived in Australia for over twenty years, he has a different attitude and will not stay to participate in what will happen. At the same time, his coming back opens many wounds he thought were healed by now.For Frantisch and Miluska, their reality is different. She wants to have children and he can't give them to her. She will do anything in order to get a baby. Miluska even resorts to buy the infant that some smugglers find in their truck. Even in this new society, xenophobia is present in the form of the captain of the football fan club that discovers that the baby is not white.One has to commend the director for presenting his ideas in such an interesting way. The cast is excellent under Mr. Hrebejk's direction. The only sour note to the total enjoyment of the film is that the print recently shown locally, has a yellowish tint and the subtitles are, for the most part, unreadable, which is a shame. Mr. Hrebejk next offering will be eagerly anticipated.

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