That was an excellent one.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The Polish director Wiktor Grodecki has largely dedicated his filmography to the depiction of young male prostitutes in Prague, and Mandragora is his first feature film after several documentaries. Thus, it seems very realistic, even for those not familiar with the topic/situation, and some unpleasant scenes seeming exaggerated are apparently not... Prague is considered as one of the finest cities in Europe, but we see only some of its beauty. The main venues are railway stations, cheap hotels, bedroom suburbs... Still, some customers and their dwelling places are wealthy, and so the misery of the boys is particularly stressed, plus the inclusion of AIDS, booze and drugs being accustomed to people in porn and escort business. Due to this and the existence of pimps, the real "workers" never become wealthy, but, contrary to common belief, it is not easy money, particularly if your sexual orientation is different. The plot, however is not smooth, and some performances are excessive, although the main characters are well elaborated and boldly performed (e.g. Marek, David, Krysa). The ending is distinctive and witty, but a bit fictitious to me. True, I am sure that circumstances have changed with the appearance of the Internet, with less "dealings" on the streets and bigger awareness of dangers and diseases, but still, Mandragora can be regarded as a good warning film to both those eager to engage themselves in prostitution and those eager to take on sex trips to economically less countries.

The seedy world of Czech gay prostitution and porn is given an uncompromising pasting in this chilling account of a provincial school boy's experiences when drawn to the big city. Yes, it is completely over the top. Virtually every character he meets is either violent, nasty, selfish or simply insane. A pimp terrorizes his boys like a 20th. century Fagin sending them out to service clients whilst keeping every dollar for himself and beating up any dissenters. A porn film maker expects his models to ejaculate to order in ten seconds whilst directly overlooked by his brood of pre-teenage daughters carrying mugs of coffee. Clients brutalize their boys with savage sadism and unspeakable perversion. These things may happen in isolated incidents but the broad mass of prostitution and porn is not quite as black as the film makes out. It is a cartoon image of filth that shocks the viewer into serious thought and conflicting emotions. It is absolutely brilliant.

This movie seemed really harsh to me. I guess one of the reasons for that is that the main character Marek looks alike a person I used to know – someone I have lost actually – I won't get into many details. There were quite a few moments of this movie which were astonishing with their way of showing the reality out there. Reality which exists, but many are not ready to accept this fact.To me Marek is a normal teen-aged boy, who needs his own space – he is tired to hear from people who think that they know what is best for him. Unfortunately he should have listened to his dad – a person, who surely loves him, trough somehow the link between them was lost. There is emptiness in the heart of the boy – caused by the missing of his mother – I did not get if she died before or just left them, but somehow the fact she was not there was affecting Marek in a way which make me to think that he was more close to her than to his father.I can not blame him for running away , I myself have considered this opportunity several times and even seeing movies like that , seeing that it could be hard to survive couldn't quite affect my troughs that someday I may do it. The differences between me and Marek – he is more brave than me – he took his decision and acted on it. It is another question if his decision was silly or not … The first sexual scene is very disturbing – I felt sorry for the boy. I was watching the screen thinking "Now you have to go back ", but at the same time realizing that for him this was not an option. The scene at the bar – when he announced for a very first time his new profession is where you see the way he deals with it. I could hardly forget the way he spoke, as he approached the American tourist, the way he looked him – it seemed oddly professional – I don't really know what term to use to describe it.At the same time we see the other types of characters – the pimps, the boys, the clients – they are portrayed in greater details. Somehow even their face expression talked about their personality or at least it did to me.I passed trough a very similar place to this bar in which Marek was approached by the pimp for a first time. And you know as I looked into it – it seemed unbelievable how many were the similarities to what was shown in the movie. The only difference – the prostitutes were girls – but nothing more. When school as over I have to pass that places again (and 8 pm doesn't seem like the right time to do it – but I have no choice) – after seeing the movie it freaks me out a bit.But on to the movie – it is a masterpiece of Wiktor Grodecki, there is no doubt in this. I highly recommend that you watch it at least ones. And may be someday you will be able to make the difference for a boy like the ones shown in this movie – to take him out of his own hell he is living it. Even trough it is hard – as the boys seemed doomed to their destiny.

A cautionary tale, a morality fable, "The Perils of Pauline", "Justine" for the modern age: Madragora is all of these and...less. The sexual exploitation of the young is epidemic in the most economically depressed areas of the world: this we know. It's a pity that an important subject is reduced to set scenes straight out of a silent movie. Really, all that is missing are a few moustache twirls from the villains. The descent of Marek from poverty to absolute misery is cliché and handled with all the subtlety of a jack-hammer. It was the director's duty to find a new way, a more subtle way, of illustrating the all too real plight of so many young people. He fails completely.