One of the first impressions I had regarding Up and Down (Horem Pádem) was that it is filled to the rim with loathsome dysfunctional characters, social confusion and several references to the problems that plague the Czech Republic. Despite the fact that the movie has been heralded as a comedy, I didn't find myself laughing too much and actually realized that I was getting more depressed as the film progressed. The argument can be made that the film imitates the turmoil of the Czech Republic and is an honest view at its citizens trying to adapt to life in modern Europe, and in that regard it certainly doesn't pull any punches.

Jan Hrebejk has been a popular Czech director for many years now, but he's probably best known here in the states for 2000's Divided We Fall. That film revolved around a Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia and was a striking look at a Czech couple that take in the lone surviving son of a Jewish family. Hrebejk seems to favor films about family, personal growth and politics, so it goes without saying that Up and Down encompasses all of those things and more.

Considering this is a film about life after communism and how it affects society, the story wouldn't be as effective if it only followed one character or plot. Instead the movie tags along with three uniquely different storylines so you have the opportunity to see a much broader scope of the people of Prague. There are several strikingly diverse character roles played out here from lowlife thieves and want to be mothers to harsh racists and fans that treat soccer like a religion.

The movie's strength is unfortunately also its greatest flaw because with so many characters to follow, they don't have time to develop and become extremely one dimensional. Up and Down is marvelously acted though with a mixed bag of touching, disturbing and amusing scenes. Despite the seeming singular perspectives of the characters, they compliment each other nicely and you never really know how their tales are going to intertwine or end.

Even though they are distinctly different, the three storylines in Up and Down do have one commonality among them and is an Indian infant boy. At the start of the film there is a group of refugees being smuggled across the border, but there is an accident and the child gets left behind on the transport truck. The two smugglers discuss what to do with the kid and eventually decide against leaving it in the woods to die, so they take it back to their headquarters which is a pawn shop run by thieves. The group of criminals prey on the fabric of society and are the main instigators in the story that eventually find their way into every facet of the plot.

The second storyline involves a young couple trying to make do with what they have and that isn't much. Franta is a security guard with a record and is currently on probation for some of his shenanigans with his soccer buddies. Mila is a mess of a woman who aspires to be a mother but she can't have one so she tries to steal other people's kids. Somehow she thinks that they'd make good parents when really she belongs in a mental institution and he belongs in jail.

At any rate Mila comes to found out about the orphaned refugee child and was told that his parents were killed, when in fact they had simply been separated. Needless to say Franta is freaked out when he realizes what she did, but even more so when he sees that the child is black. With open borders, the Czech Republic has been forced into accepting immigration and cultural diversity, and a lot of the people in this film are racist towards anyone not of their own nation.

Another such person is an aging mother dealing with separation issues regarding both her son and her husband from twenty years past. She has also become extremely bitter and racist thanks to her declining living conditions brought on by the influx of immigrants into the neighborhood. Her son finds himself coming home from Australia due to his father's failing health and meets his "step mother" who is an immigration agent that not only assists bringing in refugees, but is also helping an Indian mother find her lost infant.

If you can't tell by now, the stories are in depth and intricately woven together and if you want to get the whole picture you really need to pay attention to what's going on. It is an extremely depressing film that moves at a steady pace, but it tells an interesting tale of a poverty and culturally stricken community. It's not all doom and gloom in Prague though and at times Up and Down uses tongue in cheek humor as well as some very amusing visual gags. Any joke that the film tells is purely dark and there is no lighthearted nature to be found here.

Up and Down is presented with a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer and the image is very sharp and ripe with detail. There were a few moments where grain was noticeable but it didn't detract from the viewing experience. One of the things that is most noticeable about this film is the color palette that was used for it, since everything and every scene has a tint of green to it. This created some strong contrasts with colors and lighting, but at times it came across as looking saturated and strange. The effect is deliberate, but took some getting used to.

The only language track available on this disc is in its original Czech with a 5.1 audio transfer. There are no English options other than subtitles so if you have a problem watching subtitled movies, this one may not be for you. The audio for the most part was of good quality with some decent use of directional sound, but considering this is a movie that focuses mostly on its dialogue don't expect anything too extravagant. The film does make good use of a nice soundtrack and even though I don't speak Czech I thought it was a very nice sounding picture.

This release of Up and Down features a couple of features worth mentioning from a making of featurette, to an international trailer and a music video for the opening title track. The Making of Up and Down is the premiere special feature and is an 18 minute behind the scenes documentary with a lot of candid moments and background on the film. It features the cast and crew talking about their characters as well as various outtakes during the filming process and is really worth watching.

This is a powerful and complex film that will really be appreciated by viewers that enjoy foreign cinema or even previous works by Hrebejk. The movie is not for everyone though and despite the fact that in the end it's a touching tale, several movie goers could be lost along the way. Up and Down is best described by its title, there are moments where the film shines, but there are also times it is difficult to appreciate.

The video and audio are good quality and the "making of" special feature is very entertaining to watch, though I wish they had put together a montage of outtakes considering it appears that there were many. Overall this is a very strong foreign release and is a seedy vision into life in the Czech Republic. While it may not be for everyone I'm going to give it my recommendation to fans of foreign film, but say rent it to casual viewers of the genre.

Check out more of my reviews here. Head on over to my anime blog as well for random musings and reviews of anime, manga, and stuff from Japan!