Film review by German student

"Poupata" (Flower buds)

The Czech film “Poupata” is a social drama which shows a family living in an industrial area. Every family member has his own story and his own problems. The daughter becomes pregnant unintentionally and her brother is in love with a stripper and grows cannabis together with a friend. Both teenagers are without work and perspectives for their future. The mother is a cleaning woman and tries to improve their situation by earning and saving money. She has many dreams for the future, but her husband has no illusions about their life. He knows that he cannot change their situation and does not even try to.

The actors are likeable and the spectator can sympathise with them. Therefore the story seems to be authentic and touching. You can well imagine how the characters live and how hard their living conditions are, it could be a realistic example of a real family living in this area. However, it is sometimes hard to believe and shocking for the viewer to see the living conditions and their hopeless situation. He easily feels sorry for them and starts to think about how to help them.

But the ending arrives very abruptly and surprisingly. It is unknown what will happen to the family and how the situation changes. That might be a little bit confusing.
All in all, it is a recommendable film. The situation is shown in an authentic way and the viewer gets to know the situation of the family very well.

Written by Nicole Hartwig, Georg-Büchner-Gymnasium Letter, Germany