Nevertheless, from time to time a fairy tale appears that banishes this feeling. Four years ago, it was The Angel of the Lord 2, in which screenwriter Marek Epstein and director Jiří Strach consistently used the classics, but enriched it with a great central idea and a modern and very funny garb.
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Now in cinemas, the Princess is cursed in the time of director Petr Kubík, who is far from the content and form of the Angel of the Lord, but she also brings a fresh breeze, albeit more from foreign productions than from the Czech tradition, when she combines a fairy tale with fantasy. But if anyone blames her, today’s viewers won’t. Because the Princess Cursed in Time will be pleased (as was evident at one of the prime ministers) to be seen by teenage girls, and not only because of the idol Mark Lambor in the role of prince, although he was probably the impetus to go to the fairy tale.
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The main heroine is Princess Ellena, cursed by the evil witch Murien. On Ellen’s twentieth birthday, the curse Murien had placed on her after the newborn girl’s father had not fulfilled the promise he had made to the witch to save the kingdom.
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“You will grow up in fear of what will happen,” the witch cursed at Ellen. Neither she nor any of the kingdoms know what will strike the kingdom that day after sunset. But Ellena doesn’t care much about it. A very spoiled, rather overwhelmed girl is at rest until she wakes up again in the morning until her twentieth birthday. And again and again … When it’s crazy.
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Of course, the time loop is nothing new in cinematography, but screenwriters Petr Kubík, Lukáš Daniel Pařík and Viktor Krištof (he is also a producer) they work with her in a rather imaginative way.
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Roman Zach as an alchemist.
Photo: Bohemia MP
The chief royal alchemist (Roman Zach) also put a curse on the cursed girl: “Let time become your servant.” And time, or time loop, will really become Ellen’s helper. On a recurring day, the girl gradually changes from a clueless girl who seems to not know what to do with life, and in fact she doesn’t care, in an active warrior who, despite many obstacles, achieves what alone can avert any curse, to love.
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The princess cursed in time has several advantages. Above all, the plot is interesting, especially in the second part, exciting and allows for thinking spectators.
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There is also humor that comes into play especially in situations where Ellen’s best friend and alchemist Amélie appears on the screen, performed by the great Eliška Křenková, whose glosses are clever, apt and reliably laugh in her performance.
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The language is contemporary, which often tears behind fairy tales, but because it is consistently contemporary, not combined with an archaic fairy tale, it is close to the audience and does not matter.
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The creators do not rely on Marek Lambor’s popularity in the role of Prince Jan more than pleasant, the film is not overwhelmed by it. Princess Ellen is played by the Slovak actress Natalia Germani, and even though it can be seen that she is over twenty, she balances it as an actor (although it is not enough for Křenková). The music of Lukáš Daniel Pařík significantly helps the overall atmosphere.
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The mistakes stem from a lack of experience – the 32-year-old Kubík made only the road movie Montenegro before the fairy tale, and both of his co-writers make their debut in the field. The story would suit a shorter length, 115 minutes does not tighten, so in the first half it is a bit tedious, the D-day is repeated unnecessarily often, so at times before the break, it is slightly bored at times. More accurate timing would suit some points, and smaller viewers may not understand everything.
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Likewise, the expedition, which usually very well hides that there was not nearly as much money as foreign models have, repeats some shots, props, scenery too often. Nevertheless, the Princess Cursed in Time is one of the best in contemporary domestic creation, and not just the fairy-tale.
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| The princess is cursed in time |
| Czechia 2020, 115 min. Directed by: Petr Kubík, starring: Natalia Germani, Eliška Křenková, Marek Lambora and others |
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