REVIEW: The Next Gump is enlightening and self-centered

Even before the premiere, the creators promised that this time the film is more cheerful than the first one, where a lot of children cried through a pack of tissues. Given that in the opening part of the second episode, Gump’s beloved master Béďa, played by Boleslav Polívka, is slowly leaving this world, one does not want to believe their claims too much.

However, Polivk’s persistently positive smile is probably intended to indicate that there is actually nothing sad about dying. After all, Béďa takes good care of Gump in advance when he entrusts him to a former computer fanatic (Richard Krajčo), who moved from the concrete jungle to a caravan in rural solitude.

In the next part, this recluse becomes so close to Gump that he can listen to his “narratives”, write them down, then publish them in a book. At that moment, he goes on trips, in which he apparently copies Rožka’s own experiences from the time when he published his successful book.

Ivan Trojan: I’m a dog lover

Culture

Conversations with readers and in the TV show, autograph signings and visits to seniors seem very self-centered from a screenwriter’s point of view. There was probably nowhere to get enough supporting ideas to write the second one, so the author decided to focus more on his own memories than on the dog’s adventure. The fact that Gump is the narrator doesn’t change things.

There are a number of schoolboy lessons that, although they cannot harm children, but the wisdom delivered by the parish priest (Zbigniew Czendlik) can be quite annoying for adults.

Photo: Radio service

Canistherapy also serves as a donkey’s bridge to romance, because when a handicapped girl appears, whose mother is played by Vica Kerekes, it is clear that treatment with a dog will not be the main thing here.

Cinematographer and director FA Brabec made the most of a poor script. He stays mostly in nature, which he can capture just as beautifully as the dreamy rainbow bridge that crosses from this world to the next. When in the last part there is a small adventure after all, Brabec can extract traces of tension almost from nothing.

With the generous help of Štěpán Kozub in the role of exactly the kind of villain we expect from him, he manages to get flashes of humor out of a transparent and very simple plot. It’s a shame that it was not possible to make more use of the other animals, whether they are horses or a pig, which seem to be merely illustrative and do not carry as much humor and funny situations as the viewer would like.

Rožka’s real work for the protection of animals, from charitable work, support of dog shelters to the Prague drone show, which showed that the firecrackers hated by dog owners can be replaced, is undoubtedly worthy.

And the film belongs to her. It’s just a shame that the author didn’t pay more attention to the literary preparation in order to create a more interesting story in which the actors would also have more to play.