Charlatan

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

Beautifully constructed movie that tugs at your heartstrings for cheering on a gifted maligned healer that miraculously healed countless and yet makes one recoil at his own selfish monstrosity of forcing his wants and needs upon the one most dependant on him for livelihood. In the end, his monstrosity prevailed to continue do what he always did to survive. It was control, possession, ownership and instinct to look out for his own life that mattered. Despite his gift to heal, he failed to save his own own soul by sacrificing real love for survival.

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*

The script is based on Jan Mikolasek, a Czech healer & herbalist. Hundreds would line up each day at his house seeking treatment for ailments. He ended up serving perhaps a million. His diagnosis came in large part from observing the urine of each person & treating w/herbs. He & his staff were imprisoned for several years through Czech communist authoritarian control of peoples lives in the '50s & '60s (sounds like Russia, Belarus, China, Myanmar today) through loss of freedoms, imprisonment, killings. He died of natural causes in 1973. Unmarried he gave much of his money to charitable causes. Would have liked more history in the script.