Einzelgänger

I've seen this movie three or four times. It's funny, even if some dialogues aren't written optimally. I love two things in this film: the soundtrack, particularly brilliant song "Lucky Boy", and the figure Jakub (Jiri Machacek) - young man, which has almost destroyed his brain by marihuana. His funny quotes as "I'm on fire! Oh, boys, it's really funny!" are already legendary here in the Czech rep....

A great story of growing up, relationships, friendships, obsessions and coincidences. Samotari is first and foremost a very very funny film. The film runs around and within ten parallel stories, which, on more than one occasion, stream by one another to great new situations for the characters to deal with. The key to enjoying this move is to watch how quickly everything unravels and then knots back up again. The characters are a hoot to watch as they try to come to terms with their past and at the same time look towards the future. This is the kind of film that can stand along side such independent movies as those by Aki Kaurismaki and Jim Jarmush and be proud of itself. It looks great, sounds fab and makes you laugh so much that more than one toilet visit may accidentally happen while watching it. This is also an Eastern European movie and puts to shame most of what is coming out of Britain and America at the moment. The cast are so functional that when you leave the movie they do not leave you. This is the kind of stuff that people want to see. Not the 95% trash that ends up on video shelves every month. More luck to the film makers.

Do not miss this movie!!

Ben Holland.

I always thought Loners was just a situational comedy about a group of friends whose relationships occasionally intertwine and cause some chaos. But years later, I realized it's actually about something much deeper. And maybe that's exactly why the film still works so well more than 25 years later - it's timeless.

In reality, it's a portrait of a generation trying to deal with the emotional baggage left by their parents - trying to process their upbringing, trauma, and the absence of clear direction.

Vesna hasn't seen her father in years, even though he lives somewhere in the Czech Republic. She clings to UFO fantasies, unable to find any real grounding in life. Hanka is trying to have a normal relationship and escape the influence of her parents, but without realizing it, she behaves exactly like her mother.

Petr isolates himself from the world in a radio studio, building a bubble no one else can enter. Jakub turns to weed and drugs to avoid facing life, but in doing so, destroys any real human connection he could have.

Then there are characters who've chosen to become drug dealers or sex workers - not necessarily because they want to, but because they don't see any better options in the chaos around them.

And then there's Ondrej - seemingly the only one who has it all: a wife, twins, a stable life. But even he wants to run away. From his family, from responsibility - maybe even from himself. It's a reminder that even the most "normal" life can feel suffocating.

Loners isn't just about relationships between people - it's about the relationship each of us has with ourselves, and how hard it can be to break free from what we've inherited from our families. The film is ironic, melancholic, often funny - but above all, it's honest. And that's why it hasn't aged a bit. It's also timeless thanks to the iconic soundtrack by Jan P. Muchow, which perfectly captures the mood and emotional depth of the story.

I have seen this movie a lot of times.

I have to say its really great, perfect soundtrack, really interesting characters, which alike Knoflikari are real-looking, very nice camera and a very good story, storyline divided into episodes, not pushing you to laugh, but very funny, no mega topics, just stories of people who are alone different ways (single, even though having a partner or wife, stranger)... I fully recommend to see this movie.

My second recommendation would refer to Nuda v Brne, also czech movie, very nice, some people liked it more than Samotari, the third would be Knoflikari.

Saw it as critic at the 49. Internationales Filmfestival Mannheim Heidelberg.

As every film that I know and Zelenka is involved in it is simply genious.

I love his way of combining different stories and characters.

His *Knoflikari* and the truly magic *Powers* (part of Regina Zieglers *Erotic Tales IV*) are definitely worth being checked out. Go and get it, folks!