Kristian (1939)
Alois Novák (Oldrich Nový), a minor clerk in a travel agency and the husband of a dowdy housewife Marenka (Natasa Gollová), lives a run-of-the-mill, dull life. In his soul, however, there resides an inextinguishable desire for adventure. And so once a month he poses as a playboy. As the mysterious and wealthy Mr. Kristian he goes to the exclusive Orient Bar where he does not skimp on generous tips and where he platonic-ally seduces beautiful and elegant women. In the salon he speaks of love and the magnificence of exotic lands, which he has supposedly come to know on his wanderings abroad. In reality he has read all of this in the travel agency's brochures.
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Perfectly adorable
Don't Believe the Hype
I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.
The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.
Unimportant Czech officer spends one evening in month seducing women in Orient bar.He's married and usually leaves his one-eve company before she recognizes his real occupation. Once he meets lady (A.Mandlova) who doesn't want to leave it this way and tries to discover his own personality. Kristian begins to lie, playing his own brother and uses all possible solutions to keep on living the way he lived before - cheating his wife and changing'for one evening in irresistible Don Juan. But is his love to bar lady stronger than to his wife? Is he able to move from usual and (really)boring lifestyle to high class living? How much will his meeting with this amazing woman influent his personal life? Kristian is one of the best M. Fric's comedies from the 30's and became an icon in picturing 1st republic society in Czech republic. Very softly and sensitively written comedy, which characters are really greatly casted with all the stars of that time (O.Novy, A.Mandlova, N.Gollova etc.). Relaxing and sweet romance.