Chica Checa

There’s a lot of yearning going in Šimon Holý’s fourth feature which has its premiere in Karlovy Vary Film Festival’s Crystal Globe Competition.

With a heartfelt performance from Pavla Tomicová as Zdena, a middle-aged widow who dreams of a better life elsewhere rather than the stifling small-town preoccupations of most of the populace, the film gathers its momentum, albeit rather slowly at the start.

She spends time visiting her elderly mother in a care hospital, where she imparts her last dying wish, as well as flitting backwards and forwards in her job at the post-office.

Her mother’s wish to have a visit at her hospital bed from a well-known singer, seems impossible to realise until the return from France of her adult son Lukáš (Jan Cina) who has been told his grandmother only has a little time left.

His mum knows practically nothing of his life in France or of his boyfriend. During a conversation one evening Zdena makes a clumsy remark about the LGBTQ+ community, prompting Lukáš finally to come out as gay.

It is not long before the pair are hatching a plan for Lukáš to adopt his Parisian persona as a drag queen and a highly successful one at that, and to give a concert to his unsuspecting gran.

The film wears its emotions on its sleeve and for some tastes may be too cloying and sentimental. It is unashamedly crowd-pleasing with some easy humour derived from the reactions to Lukáš confident transformation.

Zdena eyes are widened further when she visits him in Paris and is taken to the colourful club where he performs, and judging by his apartment, makes a reasonable living.

As a testament to tolerance, forgiveness and the ability of the characters to overcome differences the film delivers a positive and optimistic message around a subject that can often seem earnest and imbued with heavy political correctness.

Reviewed on: 05 Jul 2026