A SAMPLING OF REACTIONS FROM INTERNATIONALLY-ACCLAIMED FILMMAKERS & PHILOSOPHERS, UNDERGROUND ARTISTS & POETS, OUR DEAR FANS AROUND THE WORLD, THE NEW YORK TIMES, TV, RADIO, NEWSPAPERS, FESTIVALS, ARCHIVES, BLOGS, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN…
NOTE: Our reason for not including any negative reviews here is because we haven’t received them yet! If and when we receive them, they’ll certainly be featured here as well.
Also, some of the links featured here may be dead due to age, but we try to keep everything current – even including screenshots when we have them – and we kindly ask you to help us keep this list as up-to-date as possible.
‘Ground-breaking!’
‘Philosophical!’
‘One of the most controversial films of all time!’
‘An extraordinary film!’
MF Dnes – Leading Czech Daily
‘Hilarious and disturbing…entertains while raising deep questions!’
Peter Singer – World-Renowned Philosopher (Princeton University)
‘One good film! I’ll be promoting it!’
Jan Švankmajer – Legendary Czech Filmmaker and Artist
‘A cinematic romp with deep meaning!’
‘A HIGHLY chilling tour de force! A playful insult to morality, a manifesto for maximum equality, a thought-experiment – simply a trip!’
‘A fiction film that sparked a real zoophile-rights revolution! Redefines the boundaries of love, tolerance and sexuality!’
KINO BAYBLON – Mitte (Berlin, Germany)
9.6/10
‘Crazy, disturbing, sad, philosophical, and hilarious…great film!’
Austin Philosophical Society (U.S.A.)
FULL REPORT, DISCUSSION AND EXCERPTS ON CZECH NATIONAL TELEVISION
SPECIAL AWARD FOR ‘ORIGINALITY AND SUPPORT FOR SUPPRESSED MINORITIES’
Festival Finále Plzeň – The Largest Annual Competition of Czech Films
OPENING NIGHT SELECTION – LFŠ 2007
LFŠ (LETNÍ FILMOVÁ ŠKOLA) – The Largest Czech Forum for International Independent Cinema
EAST SILVER SELECTION AT THE 2007 JIHLAVA IDDF
INEXPLICABLY BANNED FROM THE ‘CZECH LION’ COMPETITION
Český Lev – The Largest Commercial Czech Film Competition
‘The revelation of this year’s Czech cinema! An exhilarating and unsettling film echoing Nietzsche, Pasolini and Švankmajer.’
‘A film which has already built up a larger than life reputation…A unique experience with many moments of shock, laughter, bewilderment and sadness, which is what a film should evoke from a viewer, in any genre.’
‘Believe me, it’ll wake you up…I have the feeling I’ll never see Prague the same way again!’
‘A huge dose of controversy is brought to COMING SOON by its American Director, Sir Tijn Po…simultaneously illustrating the shift in social mores and the boundaries of controversy!’
AČFK – Association of Czech Film Clubs – Screenshot
‘Handled with an extraordinary dose of humor and lightness which, like the Director’s mentor (Jan Švankmajer), attempts to shatter barriers!’
‘We must warn you, this film will make you think whether you like it or not…The American Director worked as Assistant Director and Producer for Jan Švankmajer and the influence of this Czech artist can be felt from the get-go…This film is definitely worth seeing if only for the fact that you won’t just have a great time!’
Radio WAVE – Czech National Radio’s Youth Station
‘This film is absolutely unique and without parallel in Czech cinema. Although this is the Director’s first effort, he is certain to emerge as a significant personality in the world of film.’
‘Clearly the most original film to emerge from Czech cinematography in the past year!’
‘This film has many philosophical layers…I really liked it!’
Jolka Krásná, RADIOŽURNÁL – Most Popular Czech National Radio Station (at minute 13:07)
‘This film doesn’t attempt to shock, but rather introduce questions, and it does so in a very distinct and novel fashion.’
ČSFD – Largest Czech-Slovak Film Database
‘A film that will genuinely surprise even those who think THEY can no longer be surprised…Conceptually unpredictable, original and full of true-to-life humor that toys with the viewer…After seeing this film, it’s difficult to define the boundaries between normality and abnormality?! But I would definitely go see this ‘documentary’ again. Only ‘religious or animal fanatics’ can be offended.’
‘It takes an exceptional film to garner almost unanimous praise…but, startlingly, Devilhead Films’ production of Sir Tijn Po’s Coming Soon has done just that.
‘Supremely crafted, poetic, humorous, perverted…far more interesting than the David Lynch of today…undoubtedly a film that will be discussed for a very long time…Highly recommended!’
Alfred Eaker – Award-Winning American Filmmaker
‘Equality For All could have been the leitmotif of COMING SOON in which the actress Marcela Kyselová shines…The theme is conveyed with an unusual amount of humor and light-heartedness.’
Aha! – Leading Czech Tabloid
‘A very interesting confrontation between argument and custom. Definitely worth seeing!’
‘The very controversial documentary, COMING SOON, divided the lightly shocked audience into two camps. The Director Sir Tijn Po promised us a sequel, so perhaps we’ll find out what happened to the murderers of the poor bull…’
Czech National Radio – Věra Šmejkalová reporting on the LFŠ 2007
‘I left the theater feeling that I just saw a remarkable film. Make sure to see it if you can!’
‘You have to see this film at least twice!’
Ester Kočičková – Iconic Czech Actress, Singer and Moderator
‘Finally a film the whole family can enjoy. Even the pets!’
Hawk Alfredson – (Swedish Painter) and Mia Hanson – (American Photographer)
‘Everyone should see this film. Laura Betti would have kissed you for it!’ (Note: COMING SOON is dedicated to Laura Betti’s memory)
Radim Valak – Czech Film Historian, Charles University
‘At the end of the screening I didn’t know what to believe, but I had the sensation of inhabiting, without any guilt, a completely taboo perspective which I never could have imagined beforehand.’
Lucha Libre – Italian Art Magazine
‘The film provides an easy transition to a pagan era…to help find our way back to a pre-industrial, pre-Christian period. That which is ‘coming soon’ is the transformation of man as a social creature, not just the acceptance of another ‘alternative sexuality’ – and this is both more interesting, and potentially more disruptive, than the film’s more explicit subject.’
Mika Tenhovaara – Swedish Author
‘People were inspired by the film series Coming Soon I, II a III, which completely destroyed the barriers of tabboo.’
‘I spent the evening prior to May Day at a screening of an interesting film called Coming Soon…It served as quite an interesting prelude to this holiday of Spring Love.’
‘One of the most original Czech films of the year! Exhilirating and unsettling…’
Opavský deník – Regional Czech Newspaper
INTERNET EXPLODES WITH DEBATE ABOUT COMING SOON AMONGST PHILOSOPHERS, THEOLOGIANS, ZOOPHILES, NAZIS, ETC.
‘It was just crazy, crazy shit…It was a wonderful movie…It was a fucked up movie…It was shocking…The stories were sick…The images were fucked up…I really, really recommend this to you guys…And thank you again to the guy who recommended it to me!’
‘The program mentioned a scandalous film which elicits radical responses – so we had to be there. The evening was oozing with sexuality…we left with open eyes and a much wider and many-layered perspective about this often ostracized and taboo phenomenon…’
Nekultura.cz – Underground Czech Newspaper
‘Transcending genres and realities, Coming Soon is an exceptional, challenging experience!’
‘One of the most controversial films of all time…We’re not even sure what words to use to describe this film!’
Artlurker.com – American Art Blog
‘This is by far the most controversial film I have ever seen…raises many questions.’
West-MiddleEast.com – Middle-Eastern Blog
‘Either wonderfully fake or dementedly real!’
‘I would die to have this movie! I need this movie!’
‘I didn’t expect to be taken on a bit of a brain-trip, and a very intriguing one too, because it has opened up some new venues of thinking I had never known before…I will also give a big warning, it is violently graphic…I would have to say watch it and derive your own conclusions!’
FEATURED IN THE 366 WEIRD MOVIES 2009 YEARBOOK
BANNED FROM WIKIPEDIA
Screenshots
REPEATEDLY BANNED FROM YOUTUBE AFTER GETTING MILLIONS OF VIEWS WORLDWIDE!
BANNED FROM AMAZON’S VIDEO ON DEMAND AFTER REACHING #1 IN SEVERAL CATEGORIES AND BEING FEATURED IN TV GUIDE‘S ‘MOST POPULAR VIDEOS!
‘A philosophical masterpiece…There are clear moments of genius…One of the Best movies I have ever seen…For me it was an expressionistic work of art that lingers long after the individual scenes fade away…Any thing that makes me think so much today is a masterpiece for me…It’s like a little bug that enters your brain and slowly nibbles away at your previous opinions…FINALLY!!! A Czech film that isn’t afraid to bite!…I can’t remember a gutsier film in years…I firmly believe that it will become an historical milestone in the history of zoophile rights and society in general…This film is as much about zoophilia as Orwell’s ANIMAL FARM is about animals…Hard to describe but easy to recommend!!!…This is a film many people will use when they have to explain some unusual desires…Certainly the best Czech film I can remember seeing…If it’s a fake documentary it’s genius. If it’s a real documentary than it’s the ballsiest thing that I’ve seen years…Great, great film!!!’
‘A perfect fictional documentary…Entertaining, taken to absurd levels…Unlike anything else in Czech cinema…Contains everything you’d expect from a film like this…Has a real chance of changing the public opinion and forces one to reevaluate one own’s positions!’
Users on ČSFD – Largest Czech-Slovak Film Database
‘An absolute must-see, IMHO, for anyone interested in great cinema as well as the history and development of civilization…This will clearly go down as one of the key turning points in our quest for equality and rationality, alongside Stonewall, the Selma riots, etc…I think this film is ingenious!…The film does deal with Bestiality-Rights, but uses it only as a metaphor and launching pad…A philosophical (and hilarious) symphony…Great film! Definitely watch it! But don’t expect any actual bestiality…I hope to see more works by Sir Tijn Po (anyone know if there are any?)!…Full of interesting information…I’m not aware of any other film, especially a fiction film (I lean towards the reviewers here who say it’s a fiction film) that has gone on to spark an actual revolution. I find that to be the ultimate testament to this film’s brilliance!’
Users on Amazon.com
‘OMG…This is the most amazing movie. However, it is also very, very disturbing…The story with the young woman and the bul made me cry and them vomit…Very moving but not for the faint of heart…This shows why Zoos everywhere should start to take their social standing more seriously…I cried profusely when the tale of the bull was told…I am also in shock, at a level, after seeing that footage…You know, watching this movie really got to me…The movie was disturbing on so many levels for me…’
Users on Zetatracker.com – A Zoophile-Friendly Site
‘An amazing masterpiece!!! It took me through a spectrum of emotions. Words of the wise: WATCH IT!!!…I really loved the movie Coming Soon!…My mind was utterly blown! So strange, beautiful, and fascinating. Thank you for this fabulous meuvie!…It is the best film I have ever watched! It totally gave me a new outlook on how I live my life…Seriously, kudos, that was crazy. disturbing, sad, philosophical, and hilarious. good job! Thanks for finding us and for the great film!…This film is simply amazing and funny too!…i absolutely loved the movie, it is now one of my favorites. i support u guys 100% and kudos to u for pioneering the way for zoophile equality! :)…I FINALLY had time to finish the whole documentary, WHICH I LOVED!’
