Frantiek Vláčil's direction feels more confident than genuinely realized, jarring between and rarely fully fleshing out his vision of a subtle drama and solid artistic expression, but no matter how
much Vláčil's questionable touches hold the film back, when it comes to style, there is plenty of striking imagery and haunting plays on technical value and musicality to establish plenty of commendable aesthetic value, and when it comes to
substance, when he gains a grip on his thoughtfulness, he
delivers on a piercing subtlety and grace which was a fair ways ahead of the time.
Moreover, they were truly innovative in their design and function, unlike today's LPMS which haven't added
much in the way of
substance, just the way the product is
delivered to the end user.