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Kolya

Play trailer Poster for Kolya PG-13 Released Jan 24, 1996 1h 45m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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96% Tomatometer 25 Reviews 92% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
As the Cold War winds down, former concert cellist Louka (Zdenek Sverák) barely makes ends meet providing accompaniment at funerals after being blacklisted from his much cushier job with the Prague Philharmonic. For a fee, he marries a Russian woman (Libuse Safránková) so she can become a Czech citizen, but she immediately emigrates to West Germany, sticking the bachelor with her sickly 5-year-old Kolya (Andrej Chalimon) and a host of official questions about the sham marriage.

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Kolya

Critics Reviews

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Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly Rated: A- Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Edward Guthmann San Francisco Chronicle Rated: 3/4 Jun 18, 2002 Full Review BBC.com Rated: 3/5 May 6, 2002 Full Review Mal Vincent The Virginian-Pilot Koyla is uplifting despite its familiar plot... Rated: 3.5/4 Feb 25, 2022 Full Review Carrie R. Wheadon Common Sense Media Adorable kid transforms womanizer in poignant Oscar winner. Rated: 4/5 Jul 25, 2012 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 4/5 Jun 14, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Nicola B Beautifully filmed and heartwarming. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/25 Full Review dave s When a 55-year-old Czech playboy agrees to a sham marriage for financial gain, he ultimately finds himself to be the sole guardian of a 5-year-old when his new wife suddenly leaves the country. Kolya manages to be sweet without being saccharin, an accomplishment for a film that has all of the trappings of a manipulative tearjerker. Director Jan Sverak relies more on images than excessive dialogue to show the developing relationship between the two primary characters. The movie features a beautiful score and some nice, softly lit cinematography, as well as solid performances from Zdenek Sverak as the stepfather and Andrej Chalimon as the wide-eyed Kolya. Is the whole thing predictable? Of course, but sometimes it's nice to know where you're going. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review ikiru y It has a certain visual charm, but I'm surprised it got as many accolades as it did. It doesn't hold up well. Old bachelor learns to care for a young child...an old yarn you've seen before with no real surprises. Meh. Pass. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Well made but excruciating to watch Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Audience Member The Foreign Film Oscar winner from the Czech may not have a lot of originality, but possesses hefty emotional clout in its telling of the kindness of strangers and transformation caused by parenthood. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member A quirky little story set in Prague and rural Czechoslovakia of 1989, with a musician who gets stuck with 5-year-old Russian Kolya surrounded by people who are not fond of Russians in general. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Kolya

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Cast & Crew

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Jan Sverák

Director

Zdenek Sverák

Louka

Andrej Chalimon

Kolja

Libuse Safránková

Klara

Ondrej Vetchý

Broz

Stella Zazvorkova

Maminka

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Kolya

Kolya (1996) Kolya (1996) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis As the Cold War winds down, former concert cellist Louka (Zdenek Sverák) barely makes ends meet providing accompaniment at funerals after being blacklisted from his much cushier job with the Prague Philharmonic. For a fee, he marries a Russian woman (Libuse Safránková) so she can become a Czech citizen, but she immediately emigrates to West Germany, sticking the bachelor with her sickly 5-year-old Kolya (Andrej Chalimon) and a host of official questions about the sham marriage.
Director
Jan Sverák
Producer
Eric Abraham, Jan Sverák
Screenwriter
Zdenek Sverák
Distributor
Miramax Films
Production Co
Miramax
Rating
PG-13
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
Czech
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 24, 1996, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 8, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$5.8M
Runtime
1h 45m
Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby SR
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