We Have Never Been Modern

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It's a shame this wasn't the Czech Republic's official Oscar submission. I found it an intriguing film and couldn't get enough of it. Part medical mystery, part political thriller, this film features a very strong female lead, and is much better and more involved than the storyline suggests. The pregnant wife of a rising factory director enjoys her status in a small rural town ripe for modernization. However, the discovery of a dead intersex newborn amongst the factory's expansion puts things on hold days before the factory owner's celebrated arrival. State Army police is called in to investigate, but they have their own agenda. With her medical background, the wife begins her own investigation, with unforeseen consequences. All the while, the threat of the Third Reich is in the air. Talking with the director in the lobby after the film, I found out it didn't have US distribution yet. I loved it so much, I wished I had the money to distribute it myself. Here's hoping it lands somewhere I can see (or buy) it again and share it.

I watched this due to the high ratings it has been given on imdb and it was well worth it. The beginning managed to kept me glued to the screen right until the end expecting that this movie would be full of gunshots and explosions. Yet, it gave me the truest drama through a well written dialog that reminds me of that Asghar Farhadi and Hirokazu Kore-eda like tension. There's no shouting between characters, yet I could feel the tension building up till the final moment where everything starts again. Shout out to the lead actress for conveying her emotions perfectly even without any words spoken. I really hope I could see her in many more movies to come. A well written masterpiece indeed.

When I watched this film it has no reviews on IMDB so it was a bit of a journey into the unknown. The first hour is full of story (much more than the published storyline tells us) although I still didn't feel fully engaged. I guess because my knowledge of Czechoslovakia in 1937 is an empty space. The second hour is quite excellent. When it ended I went straight back and watched the start again, because it ends where it starts, and you'll know so much more about that opening scene when you've seen the whole film. Absolutely recommended. I would also like to comend the makers for not coming here and spamming the reviews with ten stars, like so many independants do.

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