Kolya
Kolya, a Czech film with subtitles, was written by the veteran 55-year-old actor who played the main role. His 30-something son directed, and they screen-tested 80 kids before flying to Moscow to pick the 5-year-old who co-starred. Hollywood would have turned this story into smaltz, but the production is quiet and sophisticated, and, I think, gives an interesting indirect look into Czechoslovakia under Russian domination in the 1980s. When this one was over, I immediately wanted to watch the “Making of the Movie” clip on the DVD. The lead actor said that although he could not identify with being a confirmed bachelor nor with being a musician, he could identify with masculine issues that arose for the main character. But in typical fashion, these are so low key that I would not have thought of it before he said it. Unfortunately for thrill seekers, this movie has no gratuitous violence, but when the car goes over the railway tracks too fast, we see sparks from the exhaust pipe. Low key and a winner.