Duffková received the Magnesia Litera award for her blog, in which she openly guided readers through her own treatment of alcoholism, published a book and then another, The Abstinent Notebook. She opened the Alkos Center for addiction treatment, spreading awareness.
Dan Svátek also has experience of his own kind with alcohol. Four years ago, he made a film based on the book by Josef Formánek, The Smiles of Sad Men regarding male addiction, in his new film he focuses on the female one.
Marta Fenclova’s screenplay follows the main character from the time when she lived with her future husband cheerfully, happily, often with a glass in her hand. As is the case with many young people.
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After the birth of the child, they moved into the house of the husband’s parents together and the problems began. While Duffková claims in interviews that disagreements with her husband’s parents were definitely not the cause of her alcoholism, in the script we do not find many other reasons than the initially minor, later growing conflicts with her mother-in-law, who did not give her enough space of her own.
And Barbara Lukešová plays her quite impressively as a woman who you really wouldn’t want to be around, even if she means everything well. And even if the newlyweds try to sort out the disputes, his character played by Miloslav König seems intentionally weak, so his efforts basically lead nowhere.
Perhaps there are also hereditary tendencies, but the screenwriter (as well as the aforementioned husband) unfortunately did not manage to get deep enough into the main character’s head. And so, thanks to the fact that female alcoholism is no longer such a taboo as it was years ago, we can guess the beginnings of the problem rather than feeling enough what is going on in the head of a young woman on maternity leave.
Photo: Bontonfilm
Miloslav König and Tereza Ramba are still full of love and laughter at the beginning
However, Svátek especially shot the first more than half of the film impressively, which was helped immensely by the actress Tereza Ramba. She was able to convey the transformation of her character with great believability, so although we learn little regarding her motivations for drinking, it is obvious how quickly she loses alcohol.
Ramba seems very authentic, from the scenes where he stumbles around the apartment, lies to everyone around him, including the therapist, at his daughter’s first birthday party, he is literally out of shape and then looks quite “normal” once more for a while, the audience is honestly horrified.
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However, the movie time runs a little too long with those scenes, which Svaták unnecessarily intersperses with dreamlike and slow-motion shots. The turning point in which the heroine decides to start treatment is quite abrupt, as is the course of treatment and the return to the life of an abstinent alcoholic.
“If only it were that easy,” may be the sigh of a viewer who probably knows more regarding alcoholics and their struggle with addiction than the film shows.
The alcoholic’s diary is thus a more impressive illustration of what happens to a person who can’t control his “drinking” than a dramatic story regarding why it happens and the struggle with it. Still, it’s worth seeing.
Alcoholics Notebook Czech Republic 2024, 92 min. Director: Dan Svátek, starring: Tereza Ramba, Miloslav König, Martin Finger, Barbara Lukešová and others Rating: 70%
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