With You The World Is Fun

Marie Poledňáková's 1983 Czechoslovak film follows three fathers who go to the mountains together every year and who, this time, must take their children along at their wives' decision. The women's purpose is simple: for the men to learn what looking after a child means. The film was among the most watched Czechoslovak comedies of its time and still circulates on television. Its humour rests on observation: preparing food, getting a child to sleep, three of them crying at once. It carries no political implication, and that absence is itself a choice. What it says about gender roles was forward for its period and reads as moderate now. The pace is easy and predictable. Who it's for: viewers who like Eastern European family comedy and are looking for nostalgic productions. Who it's not for: anyone wanting sharp humour, or a story that breaks its template.