Mandragora

Wiktor Grodecki's masterful film entitled "Mandragora" is by any standard, a stirring and gut wrenching example of poverty gone amok. The torrid film depicts the story of Marek, superbly played by Miroslav Caslavka, a troubled boy of fifteen who, bored with the juvenile pranks and idle antics in an average town, seeks the glitz and glitter of the city of Prague. Once there, he quickly realizes the needs of life in the big city come with a price, one which he cannot afford and thus succumbs to the hungry appetite of the predatory elements surrounding him. Beginning with the alluring promise of quick cash for services rendered, Marek, quickly realizes this means his 'innocence' which is taken after being drugged and raped. Escaping the inattentive and uncaring pimp, he descends into the depths of sexual perversions when he encounters and befriends a more 'experienced' partner who trades him to a dark, sadistic pair, leaving him broken and violated. The decent into the perverted practices continues when, after a brief respite, he finds himself beaten, left for dead and in the hands of a vicious pornographer. With his father searching for him, the boy having survived an appalling apprenticeship, delves into the illusionary and dead end world of drugs where father and son unfortunately miss each other by inches. All in all, a truly revealing film for anyone wishing to have a worm's eye view in the slow death of male prostitutes. *****

Following the short life of runaway-turned-rent-boy Marek and his new found friend David, Mandragora achieves what many other movies skirt corners in their attempts to achieve. An honest, no-holds-barred look at exactly what can happen when one bad decision leads to another...and another. This movie is brutal. No horrific scene cut short (including images of rape, suicide, sadism, self mutilation, etc.). Both in their early teens, these two boys go from bright-eyed innocents to drug addicted, aids infected felons in a matter of weeks...and by the end of this movie, you'll feel quite the same. I had a hard time getting through this movie in one sitting and by the end I felt as though I'd really achieved something. But, regardless of how bad I've made it sound, this movie truly affected me. It made me want to run to the streets, locate the closest underage prostitute, throw my arms around him/her and tell them, "I understand what you've been through."

This isn't one of those movies you can pop in your DVD player or VCR anytime of the day and enjoy it. This isn't a movie you rent with your girlfriend to make out too. It's not a movie you would recommend to your friends, and it's not a movie you get a bag of popcorn and sit down with your family and enjoy. This movie will disturb you. This movie will make your stomach feel awful, hours and possibly days after you watch it.

Marek is a troubled teenager who is having trouble at home and at school and he realizes he's much different than they are. His father finds out Marek has stopped going to school and tries to talk some sense into him. Talking turns into yelling and this pushes Marek further and further away and decides to runaway from home, which takes him into the dark underworld and streets of Prague. In Prague, Marek is drugged, raped and forced into a life of hustling for money, where AIDS is always a threat.

It twists and turns down dark roads without a light and by the time the movie ends, you feel a little sick to your stomach. It's a side of life we're not used to seeing, we know it's there, but either we don't care or we realize we can't do anything to help make matters worse. Wiktor Grodecki makes you care. He shoves it right in your face in plain view. You have no choice but to look. Wiktor Grodecki pulls at your heartstrings and breaks your heart over and over throughout the movie.

This movie seemed really harsh to me. I guess one of the reasons for that is that the main character Marek looks alike a person I used to know – someone I have lost actually – I won't get into many details. There were quite a few moments of this movie which were astonishing with their way of showing the reality out there. Reality which exists, but many are not ready to accept this fact.

To me Marek is a normal teen-aged boy, who needs his own space – he is tired to hear from people who think that they know what is best for him. Unfortunately he should have listened to his dad – a person, who surely loves him, trough somehow the link between them was lost. There is emptiness in the heart of the boy – caused by the missing of his mother – I did not get if she died before or just left them, but somehow the fact she was not there was affecting Marek in a way which make me to think that he was more close to her than to his father.

I can not blame him for running away , I myself have considered this opportunity several times and even seeing movies like that , seeing that it could be hard to survive couldn't quite affect my troughs that someday I may do it. The differences between me and Marek – he is more brave than me – he took his decision and acted on it. It is another question if his decision was silly or not … The first sexual scene is very disturbing – I felt sorry for the boy. I was watching the screen thinking "Now you have to go back ", but at the same time realizing that for him this was not an option. The scene at the bar – when he announced for a very first time his new profession is where you see the way he deals with it. I could hardly forget the way he spoke, as he approached the American tourist, the way he looked him – it seemed oddly professional – I don't really know what term to use to describe it.

At the same time we see the other types of characters – the pimps, the boys, the clients – they are portrayed in greater details. Somehow even their face expression talked about their personality or at least it did to me.

I passed trough a very similar place to this bar in which Marek was approached by the pimp for a first time. And you know as I looked into it – it seemed unbelievable how many were the similarities to what was shown in the movie. The only difference – the prostitutes were girls – but nothing more. When school as over I have to pass that places again (and 8 pm doesn't seem like the right time to do it – but I have no choice) – after seeing the movie it freaks me out a bit.

But on to the movie – it is a masterpiece of Wiktor Grodecki, there is no doubt in this. I highly recommend that you watch it at least ones. And may be someday you will be able to make the difference for a boy like the ones shown in this movie – to take him out of his own hell he is living it. Even trough it is hard – as the boys seemed doomed to their destiny.

When I first heard of this film, I was *slightly apprehensive* to say the least. Opinions seemed to be split, some loved it, some hated it, but I had it on good recommendations, so I bought it on the off chance.

Normally when films are dubbed 'disturbing' it puts me off - they rarely are, this just seems to be a catch all for not very good films. But I sat and watched this, and I am totally in love. The acting is very good, they portray the emotions you would expect from someone in that situation beautifully. I never usually cry at films, but the raw desperation in their eyes made me sob several times.

There is one reason that this film didn't get full marks from me, and it's a totally foolish Angil reason. There isn't enough of David Svec. I immediately fell in love with him, and remained so throughout the film. But too much of his screen time involves him beaten and bloody, although thinking now I guess that's just what his character's destined for. And he does wear it very well. So yeah, maybe it should have full marks... WATCH THIS FILM> <3 <3