BANGER.

Uma comédia punk drogada com uma cadência de palavrões e frases engraçadas e um clímax dramático que lhe dá uma cara séria. A edição criativa e uma forma autêntica de câmara de mão (de telemóvel) não só dá ao filme uma energia sólida, como também torna a sua história, de outra forma esparsa, divertida. Mesmo que os close-ups em movimento dos rostos sejam demasiados para o ecrã de cinema. A profundidade da representação expressiva de Mišík na última cena revela o seu maior trauma na vida, quando era criança, quis e não recebeu gelado. Vai gostar ainda mais do filme se não conhecer o trabalho formalmente semelhante, mas mais maduro, dos irmãos Safdie (sobretudo Diamante Bruto). (10/03/2023)

This subculture is completely alien to me, for example, I had no idea about the existence of that funny painted tough guy until Wednesday. The theme and characters of BANGER. went really over my head, but I still have to appreciate that such a film has been made here in Czechia. The screenplay as a whole makes sense (though I have problems with certain details), the performances are fine, and the comedic timing of the dialogue exchanges between Mišík and Bendig is top-notch. I'd ease up on the memes, though. (56th KVIFF) (10/07/2022)

A bit of a disappointment for me. The overall look of the film is quite amateurish, but that's forgivable. The acting is okay. Adam Mišík's performance is authentic and Marsell Bendig is the best thing about the film, even if he was hard to understand at times. Story-wise, it's simple and I was hoping the film would both be about more characters and go more to the extreme. I was expecting a proper rave party and even in terms of drugs it's not as intense as European or American films. This progressive form is welcome Czech cinema, but a film like Vyšehrad was completely different in every way. 6/10. (08/03/2023)

Dancer in the Dark, Pusher, Safdie’s Good Time with a gem, and Barry Lyndon. A hypnotic Friday quintet with which Adam Sedlák forcefully tackles his version of The Prestige. Much like in Domestique, the characters become victims of their unfulfilled ambitions, and this time he makes sure to deliver on emotion. It’s uncomfortably physical, funny (with verbal sparring with the bouncer Míra), without any attempts to moralize something as common as cocaine use, and with a perfectly set-up dilemma of whether the dealer with a conscience will end up pissing or shitting himself on stage. Adam Mišík may not be Mads Mikkelsen, but here he significantly limited his mole-like perspective on the noonday sun and fit well into the non-acting pair with Marsell Bendig. (30/05/2023)

BANGER. is an incredibly frenetically filmed adventure of one night in Prague, and at the same time it is very progressive filmmaking that brings welcome and mainly necessary waves to the otherwise quite stagnant waters of contemporary Czech cinema. I have some minor reservations; I would have cut back on some things and pushed the envelope on others, but all in all it is a high energy ride with dynamism, a distinctive directorial grip and authentic acting. [KVIFF 2022] (19/07/2022)