Where Butterflies Don’t Fly [Kam motýli nelétají] *** (2022, Daniel Krejcík, Jirí Vojta, Jakub Krejca) – Classic Movie Review 12,414

The compelling 2022 Czech drama film Where Butterflies Don’t Fly stars Daniel Krejcík as a misfit gay teenager and Jirí Vojta as his closeted gay teacher, who get trapped together in a cave complex on a school camping trip and must find their way out. 

The compelling 2022 Czech drama film Where Butterflies Don’t Fly [Kam motýli nelétají] is written and directed by Roman Němec. Daniel Krejcík stars as misfit 19-year-old gay Czech young man Daniel and Jirí Vojta plays his closeted gay gym/ literature teacher Adam, who get trapped together in a possibly symbolic cave complex on a school camping trip and must try to find their way out.

Daniel has no friends, and an uncaring mother and father, while Adam conceals his sexuality at school and lives in a fairly satisfactory long-term relationship with his fussy, caring, younger partner David (Jakub Krejca). Both, perhaps unconsciously, are looking for ways out.

The movie is more or less a two-person drama, but the interaction between the two is riveting, spurred on by the two charismatic performances. There is plenty of suspense over a long running time, as they plot to escape their fate, but, oddly enough it turns out that is hardly the point. It’s not your usual escape drama or your usual gay movie either, or your usual coming-of-age film. It’s its own thing, and, like its heroes, it manages to be successfully different, and stand out from the crowd. It is very nicely crafted and carefully written by Roman Němec, all quite delicate and nuanced. It is full of powerful little moments, mostly when the two men stop to chew over matters of life and death, that is their lives and their possible deaths. The suddenly chatty Daniel has finally found a friend in Adam, and they can save each other. Daniel persuades Adam to be open and honest, Adam persuades Daniel to be bold and brave. The duo are well matched and there’s a vague hint that they could get together romantically if they could only get the hell out of the place. Daniel bashes his head, starts getting hypothermia, takes off all his wet clothes and gets into his dry sleeping bag, where Adam agrees to join him, similarly naked, to keep him warm: ‘I could not only lose my job for this, I could be arrested.’ says Adam. Daniel replies: ‘It’ll be our secret.’ But it turns out that is not that kind of movie either. So where are we going with this?

The oddball ending is perhaps a bit unsatisfying but there’s a post-credits sequence wrapping up the story, which takes place in the well preserved small town of Kadaň in the Czech Republic (with about 18,000 inhabitants) and in cave complexes, both equally picturesque and photogenic in their very different ways. Filming in the caves looks as though it must be been tricky, so it is admirably well done, with the caves the third star of the movie.

The film premiered on 16 May 2022.

© Derek Winnert 2023 – Classic Movie Review 12,414

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