Vodník (2019) User Reviews

Vodnik, another part of the miniseries Detektivove od Nejsvetejsi Trojice !Detectives from the Holy Trinity)

[sarkanovotna · 8/10 · 20 January 2021]

Vodnik - for a non Czech speaker is not easy to explain what it is. Vodnik is a mystical creature living under water, drowning people and keeping their souls in mugs under water. This character appears in legends, myths and fairytales throughout Czech history and was used to scare people from water, The Vodnik (or Water Goblin) character is one from Jaromir Erben´s Kytice, a collection of poems/legends written in the 19th century, scary stories that became folks legends. . So much for context.

In this mini series, the 4th about the Detectives from the Holy Trinity (5 dead dogs - 5 mrtvych psu; Blue Shadows - Modre stiny nd Pripad pro exorcistu - A case for an exorcist) one of the witnesses sees a vodik at the crime scene but nobody listens to her as she´s just an impressionable 12 year old girl. But maybe she had a point and really saw another person there even though there seems to be no way somebody could enter the closed off garden besides the victims mother. Did she really do it?...Another interesting take is the reality of the communist police and the local interests that played part in solving the crime.

30 years later, many time had passed and the 12 year old girl, now a grown woman comes to the police to major Vyrova and tells her the story... and the police bites and starts investigating this already closed case. The camera was awesome, the light too, as it gave the ethereal feel of the old Kytice legend in contrast to the brutal murder.

Definitely worth seeing, as well as the previous 3 miniseries.

Really odd

[laduqesa · 5/10 · 5 August 2020]

The settings are strange. The initial interview takes place in what looks like a glass tent in the middle of a desert. We gradually learn that this is part of a futuristic-looking police station set in scorched fields whose crops must recently have been harvested. The murder takes place in a village whose residents and visitors are uniformly unattractive. The story is partly told in flashback to the communist times and that it happened before the revolution has a bearing on the plot.

There is a theme of parched heat throughout. The investigation takes place in what looks like a blisteringly hot summer the same as at the time of the murder. The washed-out colours as well as the camera's overexposure to the light add to a sense of oppressive drought. However, during some of the crucial parts of the series, the colours become garish.

The cold case team cannot arrest anyone - the statute of limitations has kicked in but they still investigate to clear up injustices. The female detective tasked with solving the matter uses intuition as much as evidence at first. She gradually breaks down barriers that have stood all this time to arrive at the truth. I don't want to get into spoiler territory, but it's pretty obvious who the real murderer is and was so from the first episode.

On the way to the denouement, family relationships are shattered, unpleasant truths emerge and reconciliations take place between some of the characters.

Yes, I watched till the end despite a certain straining of the storyline and some events that were hard to accept would have happened. I don't resent the time spent on this but I have seen better mini series and better Czech series.