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BEAUTY IN TROUBLE Send This Review to a Friend
In the Czech import “Beauty in Trouble,” intriguing actress Aňa Geislerová as Marcela is the beauty and she is certainly in trouble, not only from outside events like flooding, financial difficulties and problems with an abusive husband, but because of her own tendency to be drawn to what may not be best for her.
Directed by Jan Hrebejk and Petr Jarchovsky, the film is a hard-edged realistic look at struggling characters, and there is a strong undercurrent of cynicism. Marcela’s husband Jarda, played edgily by Roman Luknár, is sent to prison for his trafficking in stolen cars, which are stripped in his shop. Marcela also has trouble with her mother-in-law, as well as with her stepfather. She also has two children to look after.
Despite martial discord, Marcela and Jarda engage in some hot sex, a lustful tie that binds. Marcela’s chance for a better life comes when she meets a charming, financially secure older man (Josef Abrhám), who lives in Tuscany but also owns a villa in the Czech Republic. He is understanding, kind to Marcela’s children and wants to make a good life for Marcela, the children and himself.
Marcela seems willing, but there is a scene at the end of the film that is deeply upsetting because she seems unable to let go of the lust she feels for the husband she wants to leave. It is a self-destructive urge, but one the film asks us to understand in its perspective on the forces that drive us. The well-acted “Beauty in Trouble” is involving from the start and doesn’t let up in its candor. A Menemsha Films release.
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