Don’t let the title of this review lead you to believe that this is some highly educational, dull drama, as the debut feature from the Czech theater director, playwright, actor and presenter proves irreverent and hilarious as well as poignant— and, most importantly, is a must watch!
“A comedy for those who haven't experienced it. A drama for those who live it.”
So reads the tagline of The Owners, the 2019 feature debut by Jiří Havelka which will finally enjoy a U.S. release this month. Now think of the 40-something Jihlava-born actor and personality as the Czech Jake Gyllenhaal, because just like his Hollywood counterpart, Havelka possesses a mixture of gravitas and humor, all rolled into an intellectually astute package. And The Owners is a great way for this cool filmmaker to try out his directing chops.
I am always very honest when it comes to writing about films. Although often, if I don’t like something, I do prefer to keep my mouth — or rather my computer — shut. I’m hardly a film critic, as I watch cinema to find something that provides me with new glasses to view the world, not to show off my knowledge. And The Owners, during the first half of the film, seemed grating to me, almost rubbing me the wrong way. Read on to see why.
As I paused the film, I even wrote to the film’s publicist, one who always provides me with world cinema gems. She was as kind as ever, but didn’t budge in her opinion of the film nor did she try to change mine. And she was right, because something magical happens during the second half of The Owners — the film changes. It reaches an absurd climax after a dizzying crescendo that left me with goosebumps — and those in my world are always a good thing!
But I’m getting a bit ahead of myself. Let me start from the beginning.
Anyone who has owned a bit of property, but more specifically an apartment in a building somewhere in the world, knows how challenging, yet necessary those owners’ meetings are. In Italy, I remember once reading that one condo owner had pulled a gun and shot at another one during one such meeting. It wasn’t front page news either, rather relegated to some local reporting towards the back of the newspaper. In NYC, my little piece of heaven in Harlem comes complete with a group of more than 80-some owners who can never agree, not even on the hour, day and place, yes the place, of the Zoom meeting. So when Havelka’s film begins as the owners of apartments in a building in Prague are getting ready to meet for their regular SVJ (a Czech abbreviation for “Society of Owners”) meeting, I knew I was in for a bumpy ride.
The press kit lists all the characters beautifully, as well as the actors playing them, like this:
“Mrs. Zahrádková (Tereza Ramba) and her husband (Vojta Kotek) idealistically want to save the house together. The newlyweds Bernášek (Jiří Černý, Maria Sawa) join in with enthusiasm. Mrs. Roubíčková (Klára Melíšková) meticulously checks the proper protocol of the meeting. Ms. Horvátová (Dagmar Havlová) comments on everything proactively. Naive Mr. Švec (David Novotný) represents his mother. Mrs. Procházková (Pavla Tomicová), represented by Mr. Novák (Ondřej Malý), is looking for ways to enhance her property’s value. Mr. Nitranský (Andrej Polák) longs for more space in the building, and Mr. Kubát (Jiří Lábus) consistently sabotages any decision. And the Čermák brothers (Kryštof Hádek, Stanislav Majer) are lurking in the background, but old Mr. Professor Sokol (Ladislav Trojan) is not saying a word yet...”
This lively lot all have their own agendas and the ending will eventually tie these all up neatly, yet horrifically for anyone who has ever signed a document they have later come to regret. A personal trigger, I’ll admit, during recent days for this writer, and I imagine I might have found a complete massacre by machete a more jovial resolution. But the film doesn’t miss a beat, showing us the pitfalls of opinions and, alas, the downside of democracy. What was the Churchill quote? “Democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the others that have been tried.”
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
During their meeting, personal lives are put under the microscope, marriages are discussed, sexual orientations are brought up and there is even a health scare, complete with a slow-mo sequence accompanied by music by the Czech Baroque artist Jan Dismas Zelenka. What that does is highlight the tragic fact that we, as the human race, don’t stand a chance of coming together if even a small building can’t come to a single agreement — which would benefit everyone, ultimately. And it is thanks to this division that governments take control, crime syndicates multiply and flourish and disasters strike. What an incredible mirror to our global ineptitude The Owners provides!
Jiří Havelka directs from his own script, with Marek Jeníček as producer, and the brilliant Martin Žiaran as DoP. Anežka Straková’s set design channels perfectly the claustrophobic feeling of Sidney Lumet’s Twelve Angry Men, as the group sits around a table disagreeing. Otakar Šenovský is the editor and sound is by Marek Hart and Pavel Bělohlávek.
The Owners is set to open on 8/18/23 at the Quad Cinema, in NYC, before moving on to the Laemmle's Royal, in LA, on August 25th and the Gene Siskel Film Center, in Chicago that same weekend. The film is a Big World Pictures release.
All images courtesy of Big World Pictures, used with permission.