Grapes

Honza is urban, orderly and measured; Jirka is a small-time operator with a way with women. The two are opposites in every respect, yet the friendship has lasted for years. When Honza learns his grandfather is dying he starts counting up his own life and decides to do the thing he has been putting off: to go to the vineyards of Moravia. He takes Jirka along. Tomáš Bařina's film is plainly related to Alexander Payne's Sideways; you could call it the Czech version. The telling uses wine to talk about male friendship, the fear of middle age and the state of the provinces. The humour is soft and does not mock its characters. The Moravian vineyards are the visual centre of the film. It is an example of the popular strain of Czech cinema aimed at a local audience.