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Rebelové
RebelovĂ©(Rebels; Rebelove)A) is a Czech film that takes place in 1968. RebelovĂ© is a romantic dramedy musical. It doesnât appear to be known about almost at all outside of Czechia,B) hence this article.
Review
The more time passes, the more I realize that this film is both ridiculously stupid but impressive in the strangest ways. First of all, do I recommend watching it? Probably just once, to experience itâŠbut otherwise it probably isnât worth it.
Rebelové suffers from the standard issues that most Czech productions face: lackluster acting; odd script;C) weird direction and editing; clear lack of budget; etc.
Reportedly, the director of the film had little previous experience with filmsâŠand mostly filmed music videos. After you watch this filmâŠyeah, that checks out. Though the choreography here is actually not that great.
One of the strange positives of this film is that it portrays the 60s in a way that doesnât feel artificial in the same way that many 60s nostalgia films nowadays do. The other notable upside is the music: unusually for Czech music, itâs actually good. I found out this was because it isnât Czech in origin, but itâs mostly American music that was translated and adapted for the musical. So if youâre used to those originals, itâll sound really weird.
Anyway, time to move onto the plot: itâs not that great. Though the concept here is really interesting. Like very very interesting, though the execution falls short.
Basically, weâre following two groups of people: teen girls (18-19) and young adult guys (early twenties). The teen girls are about to graduate Czechoslovak high-school,D) so theyâre preparing for it. The young adult guys are army deserters who are intending to escape the country, with the ultimate goal of reaching America. Yeah, bet you werenât expecting that from a romcom.
The two groups meet by chance and shenanigans ensue. Notably, the lead girl and lead guy end up being true love and whatnot. In any other context, theyâd end up happy together. While the guy group is waiting for their opportunity to run, the Warsaw Pact Invasion ends up happening, which ends up making life incredibly difficult for everyone involved.
The film ends with the lead guy getting arrested and chucked in prison, while the lead girl and her family emigrate. The rest of the guy group manages to escape. Yeah, this film has a serious downer ending. Though itâs all set up perfectly.
Speculah & Analysis
Historical Context
The film takes place in 1968, which was a very important year in Czechoslovak history, and follows the tradition of important years in Czechoslovak history either having a 6 or 8E).
More specifically, it was the year the Warsaw Pact Invasion occurred. This happened after there were attempts at reforming Czechoslovak socialism (Prague Spring; âSocialism with a human faceâ) and the Soviet Union did not like that at all. Though, apparently, thereâs a small chance the invasion occurred due to a misunderstanding. Thatâs not directly relevant.
Right after the invasion, most of the reforms were rolled back, plus many of the people who were in charge ended up getting fired. This shakeup apparently proved detrimental long-term, since they didnât have any new people in the government until 1989 (the Velvet Revolution; when communism fell in Czechoslovakia). That contributed to the ultimate fall of the socialist state.
Trivilinks
- The film is actually available on YouTube, so you might be able to watch it for free. Just note that there are no English subtitles (and I never found any). Here it is.
Of course it looks like a shrine, itâs a shrine to trains! which refers to a train time table.