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JANORM wrote on 10/31/2009:

This a truly remarkable film of a young teacher that tries to escape his past, only to have it catch up to himself of what his true nature is. The audience is taken on this very personal journey which is so totally involved with the main charatcter, as to make the audience feel all the highs and lows of his emotional being. This is a foreign film(Czech) in its native language with english subtitles, which does not distract from the picture at all. This film is highly recommended for the way in which the subject is presented and seen. This unit should become a definite part of your classic collection! THE TRUE NATURE OF A PERSON WILL EVENTUALLY ALWAYS SHOW THROUGH TO THE LIGHT OF DAY! NJMJr!

Amos Lassen wrote on 06/09/2009:

“The Country Teacher” (“Venkovsky uticel”)
Coming-Out as a Teacher
Amos Lassen
A rural Czech outpost gets a new teacher for the elementary school. He is lonely and closeted and searching for a new life. Petr is shy and young and for whatever reason has left a prestigious school in Prague to work with students in the rural part of the Czech Republic. Pavel Liska is Petr and he is not surprised to see that the villagers are perplexed as to why he has come to them. Marie (Zuzana Bydzovska), a widow has a 17 year old son and they work their farm and extend a hand to Petr. When a romance does not come about, Marie is a bit upset and disappointed. It eventually becomes quite clear that Petr is gay and very unhappy. He knows that he cannot share this with anyone but as it happens, one indiscretion begins to threaten all that he has built.
The movie is the drama of one man and it is quite a story. There is a sense of depression over the start of the film and this is because of the passions of the characters. They are pushed to a direction that is not the best for them. The three main characters, Petr, Maria and her son Lada do not have self-control over their passions and therefore they fall victim to needs that are irrational and seem to separate the civilized from those who are not.
The story unfolds in a glorious nature setting and we try to understand why Petr went to the village and we gain a little understanding about the other characters. The theme is handled with delicacy and therefore we do not have the feeling that we are watching a film that deals with tolerance and forgiveness. The pastoral and the portrayal of farm life provide a foundation of “visceral truth”.
We learn early that Petr is gay and we understand why he keeps this to himself. He has lost interest in the gay life of Prague and he retreats. He remains apart from the local residents. He begins by being housed at the school near Maria’s farm and he fends off her romantic advances. However, he does harbor a crush on Lada, her son and as he becomes more and more in love with him from afar, he begins to express his feelings by tutoring him. Lada seems to return his attention and discovers a new love for school. There is a problem however in that Lada is straight and is totally blind to Petr’s feelings. Petr, against his own better judgment, foolishly makes a move.
Visually this is a beautiful film and it is a sweet story. It is introspective and transcendental and it will hold you captive. There is the sad yet serious joke when Petr cannot bring Lada to love him and it is Petr’s lust for Lada that causes him to fall.
There are two major flaws here. First is the way homosexuality is revealed and that is that we seem to go back to the early depictions of gays are tortured tragic victims. I thought we had progressed past that. Second is the depiction of country folk as lacking sophistication and distrustful of city people. However putting these two issues aside and remembering that we do not get too many gay themed films from the Czech Republic makes it easier to enjoy this film which despite its depictions stated above is a rewarding pleasure.