Reading time: 3 minutes 
Summary for: This week's guide to English-friendly Czech cinema and streaming🇬🇧 This Week's English-Friendly Screenings
U Are the Universe, a striking Ukrainian sci-fi feature debut from Pavlo Ostrikov, follows an astronaut played by Volodymyr Kravchuk who becomes the last living human after Earth unexpectedly explodes. In Prague, the film is now screening with English subtitles at Kino Světozor.
The Prague Reporter calls U Are the Universe a “moving tale of the last man off Earth,” praising its blend of bleak comedy, emotional depth, and first-rate visual effects. Created over a number of years, filming took a hiatus during the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when star Kravchuk served in Ukraine's military before returning to complete the movie.
- From the classic novel, The Master and Margarita is now playing with English subtitles at Kino Světozor, Kino Lucerna, and Kino Aero.
- The Flood, an unusual new take on the story of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, is now playing with English subtitles at Edison Filmhub.
- Nepela, a new biopic about Slovak figure skater Ondrej Nepela, screens with English subtitles at Edison Filmhub on Dec. 9 as part of the Movie Barf series.
- Celebrating films from southeast Asia, this year's FilmAsia festival runs through Dec. 12 at Bio Oko.
- A new documentary about Ukraine's most iconic band, Okean Elzy: Stormwatch screens with English subtitles at Bio Oko on Dec. 9.
- Some Like it Czech bring classic Czech New Wave fairy tale The Terribly Sad Princess with English subtitles to Kino Aero on Dec. 10.
- iShorts: Advent Without Fairy Tales brings English-friendly short films with dark humor and surreal sci-fi to Bio Oko on Dec. 10.
- Feeling frosty? Kino Aero hosts a pair of wintry classics on Dec. 11: John Carpenter's The Thing and Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight.
- Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? Decide for yourself at Kino Aero's Die Hard Marathon on Dec. 13, featuring the first three Bruce Willis classics.
- Bardzo Fajny presents a pair of new Polish films, It's Not My Film and LARP, with English subtitles at Bio Oko on Dec. 14-15.
🍿 New wide releases
- Not Without Hope ★★★ (read review)
- Kiss of the Spider Woman ★★★ (read review)
- Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 ★★ (read review)
🇨🇿 Czech Cinema Spotlight
The third installment in Tomáš Vorel’s trilogy following Gympl and Vejška, Džob follows longtime friends played by Jiří Mádl and Tomáš Vorel Jr. as they navigate adulthood while holding onto their passion for graffiti. Džob is now streaming with English subtitles on Netflix locally.
A major hit in Czech cinemas this summer, Džob was the second-highest grossing Czech movie of the year after Vyšehrad Dvje, showcasing Vorel’s knack for blending Czech humor, heart, and streetwise artistry into a relatable tale of friendship, adulthood, and following one’s passion.
📺 The Streaming Watchlist
- Now streaming on Netflix, Noah Baumbach's Jay Kelly stars George Clooney as an aging actor and Adam Sandler as his devoted manager.
- Michelle Pfeiffer stars as a burnt-out mom who vanishes during the holidays in Oh. What. Fun., now on Prime Video.
- The Abandons follows Lena Headey and Gillian Anderson as rival women clashing in the 1854 frontier. All seven episodes are now streaming on Netflix.
- Thirty years after 90s indie classic The Brothers McMullen, Edward Burns's The Family McMullen reunites his Irish Catholic family, now on HBO Max.
- Troll 2 reunites the heroes of the 2022 film to face a giant troll threatening Norway, now streaming on Netflix.
🎞️ The Throwback
Following the passing of Oscar-winning Czech costume designer Theodor Pištěk at 93, Miloš Forman’s Amadeus stands as a testament to his artistry. Pištěk’s meticulously crafted 18th-century costumes helped define the visual identity of the 1984 classic, earning him an Academy Award and cementing his reputation internationally.
Shot in Prague, Amadeus tells the story of the tempestuous rivalry between composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, blending biographical drama, dark humor, and operatic spectacle. The film, newly remastered in 4K for its 40th anniversary, can be purchased locally on Apple TV (theatrical version) or YouTube (director's cut).
