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Autumn Spring

Play trailer Poster for Autumn Spring PG-13 2002 1h 37m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
97% Tomatometer 37 Reviews 83% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Fanda (Vlastimil Brodský) refuses to act like the old man he is. Rather, he squanders the savings that his wife, Emilie (Stella Zazvorkova), has put away for their eventual burials and funerals by playing pranks and running up large food and drink tabs with his friend, Eda (Stanislav Zindulka). Their son, Jara (Ondrej Vetchý), wants Fanda to grow up and is trying to get both his parents to move out of his place into a retirement home, but Fanda won't take on the responsibilities of old age.

Critics Reviews

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John Monaghan Detroit Free Press 01/02/2004
3/4
Worth a look for anyone in the mood for a story about an old man who lives by Dylan Thomas' advice about not going gently into the night. Go to Full Review
Moira MacDonald Seattle Times 12/12/2003
3/4
A gentle story of love and kindness. Go to Full Review
Walter V. Addiego San Francisco Chronicle 11/21/2003
3/4
Director Vladimir Michalek and writer Jiri Hubac deftly suggest the pathos of old age while avoiding the saccharine and the morbid. Go to Full Review
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com 10/11/2005
3/5
Urban Cinefile Critics Urban Cinefile 07/24/2004
With its uplifting moral to stay young at heart, Autumn Spring is a bittersweet charmer about rogues, relationships and growing old. Go to Full Review
James Verniere Boston Herald 02/02/2004
3.5/4
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Audience Reviews

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dave s 08/08/2021 Autumn Spring, the story of an elderly married couple dealing with the idea of mortality, is a touching but humorous examination of how we mentally prepare for death. Emilie collects death notices, visits the cemetery and squirrels away money to pay for her funeral. Her husband, Fanda, tries to make the most of his final years, living life as he always has, playing pranks, indulging in his vices, and generally having fun. There's plenty of pathos and the film risks delving into the area of maudlin, but it keeps its head above water by remaining light but insightful. The movie looks great with a bright color palette and agile cinematography as the camera pokes and probes in a Scorsese-like manner, and the performances by the two leads are inspiring. See more 08/31/2014 Very enjoyable, although you need to think your way into being Czech and old first. Fanda is a character, and full of life: money is a toy, and flutters through his fingers like so much confetti. His wife has a hard time, and his son's family arrangements are putting a load of extra pressure on them both. Perceptive and affectionate, if a little slow in parts. It's about relationships more than events. See more 06/24/2014 this is a movie about old age but the movie never grows old to me :) saw it thrice. See more jesse o 05/06/2012 This movie is really sad when you find out, and I found out months prior to watching the movie because I do research, that Vladimil Brodsky committed suicide shortly after filming this movie. It makes watching really bittersweet, when you see how this character plays out on screen as someone who just wants to enjoy life by playing pranks on people to feel alive and young again. It's really a great and charming performance, quite frankly the three leads are all great. The story is also really good, seeing how this man's behavior ultimately hurts the person he loves the most. It's very believable to think that this man, who's close to the end of his life, to want to feel young and alive again by doing what he does. It's also believable to see his wife react the way she does. It's just great. And it deals with the death issue in a mature manner, it doesn't feel melodramatic. Overall it's just a really great movie with very funny and touching moments. See more 12/01/2011 The story was beautiful and it had some funny moments in the movie. The main character was kind of annoying though. Also it can be very slow in the first half of it. See more 07/31/2011 Not Too Shabby. Brilliant on all levels. Masterful composition & lighting with a warm heart of a story to give it pulse. See more Read all reviews
Autumn Spring

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Movie Info

Synopsis Fanda (Vlastimil Brodský) refuses to act like the old man he is. Rather, he squanders the savings that his wife, Emilie (Stella Zazvorkova), has put away for their eventual burials and funerals by playing pranks and running up large food and drink tabs with his friend, Eda (Stanislav Zindulka). Their son, Jara (Ondrej Vetchý), wants Fanda to grow up and is trying to get both his parents to move out of his place into a retirement home, but Fanda won't take on the responsibilities of old age.
Director
Vladimir Michalek
Producer
Jiri Bartoska, Jaroslav Kucera
Screenwriter
Jiri Hubac
Distributor
First Look
Production Co
BKP Film
Rating
PG-13 (Language)
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
Czech
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 1, 2002, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 5, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$67.3K
Runtime
1h 37m
Sound Mix
Surround