Up and Down
User Score
7.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 13 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 13
  3. Negative: 2 out of 13

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  1. ChadS.
    Apr 15, 2005
    10
    After we learn how all the characters are interconnected (and maybe it takes a little too long), "Up and Down" rivets by showing how the underlying factors behind racism is largely socio-economic and a byproduct of a person's self-hatred. "Up and Down" suggests what a John Sayles film would be like if the earnest champion of the underdog had a funny bone. After Hana declares that she is done helping "those who are less fortunate" to a cafe patron, one of her former projects fends for themselves in the funniest way imaginable, as a way of showing her charity was largely self-serving. Hana might be one of those people who may help "the other", but whose friends are of one uniform color. Even though Vera delivers a very hateful speech against the immigrants, we can see they are largely scapegoats, receivers of vitriol from a scorned woman who's actually mad at her husband's clumsy penis. Vera probably hates herself more than she hates her neighbors. The other narrative is equally riveting and thematically consistent. When Frantz adds his voice to the repetitive chant of a epitaph against a black football player with the other drunken hooligans, again, "the other" is a convenient target of rage; a rage, otherwise, would be found directed at himself. You just know that Frantz doesn't mean it. "Up and Down" is a fantastic film about the world we live in today with fallible characters we neither love or hate.… Expand
  2. JayW.
    Feb 27, 2005
    6
    At times amusing and illuminating, this unfocused and melodramatic exploration of angst, race, immigration and assimilation in the Post-Communist Czecholosvakia was drawn with an excessively heavy hand. I was frequently moved to yell "OK, we get it - move on!" It sure would have made a terrific documentary, though.
  3. [Anonymous]
    Mar 2, 2005
    2
    Maybe I am too idiotic but I don't see anything in this movie - what is about? Where is some unlogical plot with stolen baby (why couldn't the drivers back it immediately?, who cares about baby in second hand?) and some family problems on other hand, but it don't work together.
  4. JohnN
    Jul 27, 2005
    9
    An excellent cast, entangles in various sub-plots that all come together somewhat...all the trappings of a disaster, but it works. Funny for the most part, but I expect it paints a more accurate than one thinks picture of the Czech Republic than you would get thfrough the travel channel. No conscience altering masterpiece, but a fun entertaining movie. Forgot there were subtitles in 2 minutes it was so good.… Expand
  5. Bluezboy8
    Mar 21, 2005
    8
    A wry, mature slice of post-communist Prague, and will not appeal to everyone. It struck me as a euro-version of Altman's "Short Cuts". This movie takes great attention and a quiet patience to in order to fully appreciate it. The payoff for those who can soldier on through is satisfying. Just don't go running out for more popcorn! You'll miss something!
  6. MarcK.
    Dec 6, 2005
    6
    The very high MetaCritic rating led me to believe this would be a much better film than it turned out to be. Also, while this movie may have had comedic moments, I certainly wouldn't have classified it as a comedy. It is definitely more substantive and thought-provoking. It's just not all that spectacular.
  7. MichaelP.
    Feb 27, 2005
    10
    Great!!!

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
78 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 27
  3. Negative: 0 out of 27
  1. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    90
    A powerful Czech drama with comic flourishes.
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  2. The New Republic
    Reviewed by: Stanley Kauffmann
    80
    It's agreeable to see a picture that holds us without perspiring to do so. We are treated not as an audience but as café chums to whom a story is being told
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  3. Variety
    Reviewed by: Eddie Cockrell
    80
    A vibrant, immediate treatise on love and cultural identity in a complex new world of fluid borders and deep suspicions in the stunning new Czech drama Up and Down.
    Read full review
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