Vianočné čary

Cursed since childhood, dentist Charlie Logan cannot find the right woman. Even worse, he learns that each of his ex-girlfriends finds true love with the man she meets after her relationship with him ends. Hearing of Charlie's reputation as a good-luck charm, women from all over line up for a quick tryst. But when Charlie meets the woman of his dreams, he must find a way to break the curse or risk losing her to the next man she meets.

Kadhaveedu' is a dedication to Malayalam being accorded the Shresthabhaasha (Malayalam has been declared a Classical language in 2013) status and presents, as a single entity, three different stories penned by the doyens of Malayalam literature - Vaikkom Muhammed Basheer, M T Vasudevan Nair and Madhavikutty. The film is an anthology with adaptations of stories written by renowned Malayalam fiction writers Basheer, M. T. Vasudevan Nair and Madhavikutty (Kamala Surayya).. The stories have been tweaked to fit in a modern setting and the script has been conceived by the director himself.

The sarcastic account of the assassination of five Spanish politicians between 1870 and 1973 is mixed with the narration of five short stories by Edgar Allan Poe illustrated by five skillful pencil artists. A documentary, a video essay, a collage, a provocative experiment where various pop culture figures and icons perform unexpected cameos. The macabre joke of a jester. Never more.

Adolf (Miloš Kopecký), the irresistible seducer of women, is fond of Janicka (Hana Lelitová), a novice opera singer. The girl, however, prefers famous men and Adolf thus does not have a single chance with her. One day in a hospital, he meets a Greek partisan named Apostolek (Pavel Landovský) who impresses him with his spontaneity and ease in solving all problems, especially those with women. Adolf has an idea for a revenge. He makes Apostolek familiar with social manners, dresses him after the latest fashion and introduces him to Janicka as a Greek conductor. Janicka instantly falls in love with the made-up composer and Apostolek does no better.

The dramatization of the Old Prague short story by the writer Ignát Herrmann is an acting concert by Jan Pivec. In this film from 1964, the actor let all registers of his mature acting sound, from outright comical positions to tones sounding with tragic undertones. And although the character of Vavřinec Konopka clearly dominates in this story, the great actor disciplinedly left enough space for his teammates, especially Jaroslav Marvan, Dana Medřická (her poisonous Petronila is an excellent figure), the modest Libuša Havelková and the bohemian Josef Kemr and everyone else. The director František Filip was actually the conductor here, who got a beautifully coordinated orchestra of soloists at his disposal... But let's go back to the century before last. Where is the dignified and rather burly official Mr. Konopka peláší? And even runs with a jet and without a hat…