The ideal viewers for this film are middle-aged couples. There is a good chance these couples will identify with the couple's story.Joseph Tkaloun is a literature professor who teaches in a secondary school. He likes literature but has no more patience to deal with annoying and insolent teenagers. He is a dreamer and would like to work on activities that would connect him with real people. He retires from his teaching activities and tries several small jobs as a delivery boy, grocery clerk, etc.Tkalounová, married for over 30 years with Joseph, teaches languages​​, is not a dreamer like her husband, and seems quite resigned to her little life between her household which includes also her daughter, recently separated from her respective husband, and her grandson.The love life of Joseph and Tkalounová is stranded. Joseph has some recurring erotic fantasies which increase his interest in females, but he doesn't succeed to transmit his enthusiasm to his wife.The daily routine of the couple goes on, punctuated by discussions at home, small jealousies from both sides, an unsuccessful attempt of infidelity from the part of Joseph, the emergence of an admirer of Tkalounová, a boyfriend that Joseph arrange for the daughter of the couple, etc.Finally a happy end closes this trivial and "tanned" love story of this middle-age couple with surprise balloon ride.A very nice movie that is really worth to be seen by viewers of middle age. I insist on the adjective middle-age because I think that young people will not understand the essential.

Empties is a film from the Czech Republic in Czech and German and with English subtitles. The film focuses on a man in his 60's who has just left his teaching job and decides he still wants to work, which leads him eventually to a job as a bottle sorter at a grocery store. At this job because he is very sociable he makes friends with a lot of the customers he has to deal with along with the staff there. The film focuses also on his rocky marriage, his troubled daughter and the many people who come in and out of his life from being involved as a bottle sorter. I really appreciated Empties because of the way it examined and tackled some rather big issues such as a marriage falling apart, working to be useful and as a means of socializing and many of the things that go along with aging. All of these are important parts of this story and at times they are dealt with quite seriously, but the film has tons of wonderful humour in it from it's top notch performances, to the writing and just having the characters be themselves. They are funny because they are so realistically human and everything they say, think and do is not unordinary, or to the extreme and I think many people whether they are a young adult, or perhaps middle aged, or older will find things that they can relate to with this film and because of it's warm hearted humour I think the audience will appreciate such things being analyzed much more and will have a good laugh while watching it. This is not a heavy, or overly sad film. It deals with mature issues, but also has a very humorous and sweet side to it, that you can not help feeling sad for too long, but instead feel moments of tenderness and joy watching the characters and seeing them make their life choices, whether they end up being good, or bad, or perhaps just realistic choices. The film because of it's spirited performances and writing, is very entertaining to watch and out of all the films I have seen so far this year, I think this one will be the most crowd pleasing. The audience I watched this film with, laughed often and really seemed to be enjoying themselves. The humour has a very unique European feel to it and it feels fresh as opposed to all the American comedies that have been out as of late. There are moments when Empties made me think, made me laugh and just kept me in pure enjoyment throughout the film's running time. I think that wherever you are in life, or whatever has happened to you, I think everyone will find something in Empties' story and characters and will have a good laugh and talk about it afterwards. A terrifically feel good and thinking person's movie that has a lot to offer it's teenage and adult audience, so if this is playing anywhere near you, or will be on video soon, I recommend you see Empties. An overall great film.

I hope comments formatted as bullets are OK; no real spoilers contained.* a masterpiece and return to true Zdenek Sverak form (after the flop of _Dark-Blue World_, a woeful departure from Zdenek Sverak's typical comedy genre) * airborne views of the Czech countryside, with which Zdenek Sverak is in love -- this time, *closely integrated* in the movie's climax, as opposed to similar shots in Zdenek Sverak's earlier movies -- though breath-taking there as well, they used to serve as mere illustrations; now, they're part of the movie's message * the number OK-5060 on the balloon is highly symbolic, meaning to say you can still have a great life while in your 50s or 60s -- which was Sverak's age at the time the movie was written and produced -- in fact, Zdenek Sverak is over 70 years old today (born in 1936), and looks astonishingly well for his age; metaphorical swelling and inflating of the balloon after falling to the ground -- "dying", as if, but not yet, not quite; "there's still something left" in our lives * movie title, "returnable bottles", in line with the movie's title song: "I'd like to have another one, thank you" -- meaning another *life*, to understand or enjoy even *more* of it than the first time around; so, human lives are like returnable bottles...* Zdenek Svěrák's impeccable performance; he can be thoroughly serious whenever the need arises; there are some extremely poignant and thoroughly serious moments in the movie, particularly in depicting the (grand)parent-child relationship; Sverak's inimitable enunciation, especially untranslatable: he can say an ordinary Czech sentence but deliver it in a way that makes it sound funny or witty, *without* being theatrical * *two* endings are contained in the movie: one US happy ending (an American movie would have ended right there); but, after the credits for the cast roll by, *another* ending is attached, a thoroughly European tongue-in-cheek one; in it also lies the movie's wisdom -- life is always about compromises between what one dreams about (all those half-naked ladies in the train's compartment) and what truly is available in real life, and for what one must be genuinely thankful, because it is such a blessing, even though oftentimes humdrum on ordinary days -- in _Vratne lahve_, this is the 40-year marriage between Pepa and his wife * a fascinating array of supporting characters, from the hilarious "talkative" ex-Major to the awkward youth at the paper press to the lustful mathematics teacher and the thoughtful, tender-hearted IT teacher, as well as the irresponsible, shallow doctor; or the old lady who can't afford her groceries * you can recognize the greatest masterpieces in art by their being capable of mixing thoroughly disparate elements: such as being funny and moving / serious at the *same* time; _Vratne lahve_ manages this trick *throughout*; even though the basic plot is predictable enough (the man is about to lose his job due to automation), its implementation is glorious, and when Pepa gets the note saying, "Mr. Tkaloun, what are today's discounts?", this is a truly affecting moment; a similar one involves Pepa, in despair, placing his head and hands on the wall of his small booth, then realizing (thanks to the stains) how often his colleague must have been desperate before him, in just the same manner -- needless to say, the despair was sexually motivated * fantastic direction by Jan Sverak, with minuscule attention paid even to the smallest detail; whenever pretty girls are meant to be shown in _Vratne lahve_, they are not merely pretty, but *gloriously* beautiful; watch the 2 girls re-stocking the supermarket shelves, or even the very young girl sitting behind the cheeky schoolboy in the movie's opening scenes -- all these are fantastically beautiful girls, even though they appear in the movie for barely a few seconds, or dozens of seconds; yet Jan Sverak made sure every little thing in the background of the main action shown was just 100% perfect * classic, famous Zdenek Sverak wit apparent throughout _Vratne lahve_; just as Woody Allen has his style of humour that is unmistakably his, and Billy Wilder has his own, so does Zdenek Sverak. The quality of some of the jokes in _Vratne lahve_ is on a par with now legendary jokes from movies like _Kolja_ or _The Elementary School_ or even as far back as _My Sweet Little Village_, _Waiter, Run_, and _Hand Me the Pen, Mark_. Ladislav Smoljak, Zdenek Sverak's close friend and collaborator since decades, has nothing more than 2 short cameos in _Vratne lahve_, but they certainly are memorable: funny and wise at the same time, capturing the spirit of our hurried era: "He's just some sort of a messenger, but he sure looks like the participant in a race!" * wonderful camera-work: the movie manages to be both rural and urban at the same time; glorious views of Prague *and* the surrounding countryside, the rolling Czech land in its amazing verdure, again establishing the connection to the earlier Zdenek Sverak classics * fantastic title song, sung by Jaroslav Uhlir, as the title tune from _Waiter, Run_, made almost 30 years ago in the 1980s! One may only wish that both _Vratne lahve_ the movie *and* its title song become classics of the same calibre as both _Waiter, Run_ and its title song; _Vratne lahve_ thoroughly deserves the status of a classic, even though it is only about 9 months old at the time when I'm writing this sentence! * the running theme through pretty much all of Zdenek Sverak's movies is that of sexual obsession, and it takes center stage here in _Vratne lahve_, too; again, most closely reminding the viewer of the early 1980s masterpiece, _Waiter, Run_, thanks to the numerous "fantasy sequences", so similar to those so frequently experienced by the bookstore manager in _Waiter, Run_.

Simply, a waaayyy better than Kolja. Personally, I guess almost anything said about a movie before you see it is actually a spoiler, as it influences the expectations and the response isn't that pure anymore. For those who share this attitude with me, just read no more than the next line. Believe me, go see this great cinematic achievement. The Sverak duo is certainly a kind of quality guarantee. However, Vratne lahve gives you much more than the necessary expectations fulfillment. Witty dialogues, tremendously believable acting, plausible script and humane setting, all of these form a story full of emotions and simple truths most of us value so much even without realizing it. This movie makes you realize all those lovely aspects life and its various phases bring about. ...and one more thing, (this might be connected with understanding the local mentality) watching this movie you will most probably find yourself laughing really whole-heartedly, this movie is truly much funnier than any high-rated comedy, even though the topic and story covered aren't actually that funny in real life at all. Wonderful experience, definitely deserves worldwide recognition, a second Oscar for Sverak wouldn't be too much to expect.