Charlatán

I had never heard of Jan Mikolasek, a herbalist/healer and hero to many Czech people. I strongly feel that would be for the best, or checking your Czech history at the door during the opening credits. In fact I'd add maybe skip the post-movie googling on him, and accept this as a very-loosely-based-on-reality film.

Call it speculative biography.

That said, I found the folk therapy treatments based on urine analysis fascinating, I could almost see that as something to have a revival for a variety of reasons (health-cost widening gaps on top of a general distrust of what the authorities, medical or otherwise, say).

Indeed the day I watched this movie I also read a news story about a California state senator's wife dying with a "partially intact" white mulberry leaf found inside her stomach. Sad, but charlatans are far from a plague of the past.

Despite the title, the film seems to not be so ready to condemn Mikolasek for his quasi-medical endeavors. He is introduced with an almost superhuman power, and there is a notion of a burning need to share that power with the people.

The scenes with his mentor underscore a commitment to altruism, beneath a fervent religious belief. There is some joy to those scenes, and fun with lighting as well. Mikolasek inherits a lot of his mentor's skills, however the altruism and spirituality come with conflictions.

He lives a life of apparently both affluence and asceticism. Sitting at night for a tasty feast, kneeling the next day upon the rocks before a statue of Christ.

The conflictions in the film are expanded to his sexuality, in Holland's account there is no question to the homeopath's homosexuality. Like I said, speculative biography. That sexuality puts him at risk not just in the church, but in the eyes of state. Even as the state of the state changes.

Speaking of the state, the healer's efforts don't only lead to long lines of desperate people outside Mikolasek's stately gated home, but interest from their leaders/occupiers.

He survives thanks to his concoctions and connections. But after a stretch of time, will his friends in powerful places turn a more cowardly shade of yellow? Will the good non-doctor suffer the same shady fate?

Again I think the film is well worth a watch especially the efforts of father and son actors covering the ages of Jan. The camera shots work harder than the communists to frame Mikolasek (so many shots through gates/doorways/prison cells and other rectangles within the rectangular screen).

A mild caution on some of the brutality in the film, there are three scenes where a harsh choice of life/death is thrust upon us. A gun, a sack and and an abortifacient - while the middle may trouble other viewers the most, the third shook me.

Over the course of the movie, I felt that Holland may have tried to stack too much upon the shoulders of Mikolasek in this his reel life, but then again he apparently was a larger-than-life to many in his real life.

Great art direction. Interesting story, but I felt it missed on a few things worth exploring. Great cinematography. Weak chemistry between the leads. Feels like an HBO TV movie, which is not necessarily a bad thing. 6* out of 10*

Czechoslovakian cinematography is flooded with mindless romantic comedies, so it very refreshing to finally see something with a soul. And oh my, this film is something. Breathtaking acting, both Ivan Trojan and Juraj Loj showed what they can do when they are given space and great script to work with. Characters are deep and meaningful, even the smallest roles left me wandering: Who are you, what is your story? Main character, Jan Mikolásek, has an interesting and unusual personality and definitely can't be seen as "a good guy" but he is not "a bad guy" either. I don't know if i would even call him moraly gray. It is completely left on you, how you choose to see him. Personally I also loved how they choose to portray love between two men, how completely breathtaking and pure their relationship was. Couple of times I was very close to tears. If this is where our cinematography is heading, I am definitely excited and I am looking forward to more films like this. Definitely worth watching. If you are slovak/czech, grab your cinema tickets asap. If not, get hold of a subtitled version and watch it too. Great work of art.

A very rich story about a dedicated man with an extraordinary gift and his own shadows. Very well played, the film takes us through three different regimes, each of which are suspicious about the protagonist's methods. Both gentle and cruel, he dedicates his life to healing others, until his perhaps greatest barrier threatens to put an end to his career. Moving and touching across several different layers. Very worthwhile to watch

Charlatan is a 2020 Czech-Polish-Irish-Slovak drama well shot by Agnieszka Holland based loosely on the healer Jan Mikolásek (1889-1973), who cured hundreds of people using plant-based remedies ,already a local institution in Czechoslovakia before World War II, the healer gains in reputation and wealth both during the Nazi occupation and under Communist rule. It was selected as the Czech entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards . It won five awards including Best Film at the 2021 Czech Lion Awards . This is a nice historical drama about Jan Mikolasek, a Czech herbalist who, by analyzing the urine of his patients, was able to diagnose diseases and cure them with medicinal herbs . He was an ambiguous character who assisted both , Nazi during the occupation and the communists after the war ; one after the other, each regime wants to use his skills and in return give him protection . But lost the support of the Czechoslovak authorities after the death of President Zaptocky, whom he had treated and was arrested and accused of illicit enrichment.

The impressive story of a man gifted with exceptional abilities set against the background of the events of the totalitarian fifties. The life of Jan Mikolásek who was born at the turn of the 20th century, he won fame and fortune using unorthodox plant-based treatment methods to cure a wide range of diseases . He was a well-known and successful Czech healer, who diagnosed and healed people using his intuition and his familiarity with plants. His remedies and prescriptions, although mostly plant-based, included lifestyle and dietary changes. From the urine, he was able to diagnose a disease, which he subsequently treated with herbs. Fresh urine has an amber-yellow color, while brown, for example, indicates a liver problem, and pink to red indicates a bad kidney. A more persistent foam, on the other hand, indicated that the urine contained a higher level of protein. With his helper, he mixed and matched mixtures of 27 plant species. In Jenstejn they consumed up to three tons of herbs a week. The herbs themselves do not have such an effect as their proper combinations. And vice versa, some plants do not get along with each other. In addition to teas, he was also engaged in the production of ointments, various oils, drops and unspecified "powders". Mikolásek also produced two syrups for children. One of them ministered to sick children, the other to children suffering from tuberculosis. He emphasized that the same disease cannot be treated with the same herbs. "For example, two people have the same hair disease, both are men, both are the same age and have the same body composition. And yet, if I prescribe the same thing to both, it will help one and not the other" .He healed not only poor people from the villages but also many well-known people, including the Czechoslovak President, Antonín Zápotocky. Mikolásek's diagnostic methods and notorious healing got the attention of Czechoslovakia's government . He was finally arrested after strychnine was found in the bodies of two men he had treated . Set in Czechoslovakia in 1957, the film shows his arrest and trial but also his previous life and his love affair with his assistant and lover Frantisek Palko.

Ivan Trojan, winner of the Czech Lion to best actor for this role as the herbalist Jan Mikolasek dedicated his life to caring for the sick despite the immense obstacles he faced in his private and public life , he is in charge of giving life to mature Jan, while the actor's son, Josef Trojan, plays the young healer . This thought-provoking and brooding motion picture was compellingly directed by Agnieszka Holland . And winner of 4 Czech Lions, including Best Film, the film was nominated for the Teddy (which recognizes the best LGTBIQ-themed film at the Berlin 2020 festival). This prestigious director Holland has made good films , outstanding the following ones : "Copying Beethoven¨ , ¨Julie walking Home¨ , ¨Washington Square¨, ¨Total Eclipse¨ , ¨The Secret Garden¨, ¨Olivier Olivier¨ , ¨To Kill a Priest¨ , ¨A Woman on her Own¨ and ¨Sunday Children" . Rating 7/10 . Better than average .