Kristove roky (1967) User Reviews

An aimless artist looks for direction in his life.

[pscamp01 · 6/10 · 9 November 2018]

Crucial Years is the debut film of director Juraj Jakubisko, who was voted by his countrymen in 2000 as the best Slovak director of the 20th century. Crucial Years is the story of Juraj, an aimless painter who spends most of his time drinking, womanizing and borrowing money from acquaintances. The movie is pretty much plotless as it follows Juraj as he goofs around with family members and friends. The movie more or less centers around a key day in his life when he meets Jana, a fellow artist, and his brother Andrej, who has been dumped by his wife, drops into town for a visit. The movie seems heavily influenced by Breathless. A lot of it was shot on the street around unsuspecting passerbys and there a lot of scenes where the two lead actors appear to be improvising. It's a diverting movie, if not exactly essential viewing.