Cast:
Jan Vostrčil (Head of Committee), Josef Šebánek (Committee Member #2), Josef Valnoha (Committee Member), František Debelka (Committee Member #1), Josef Kolb (Josef), Jan Stöckl (Retired Fire Chief), Vratislav Čermák (Committee Member), Josef Řehořek (Committee Member #4), Václav Novotný (Committee Member), František Reinstein (Committee Member), František Paska (Committee Member), Stanislav Holubec (Karel), Josef Kutálek (Ludva), and Milada Ježková (Josef's wife) Directed by Miloš Forman (#1164 - One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, #1473 - Amadeus)
Review:
The story goes that this film was inspired by a friendly trip to a little town for a ball. Miloš Forman had just directed Loves of a Blonde (1965) through the collaboration of writing with Ivan Passer, Jaroslav Papoušek, and Václav Šašek. Apparently, Forman and company were trying to concentrate in trying to do another screenplay that would be the third film involving Forman as director within his native Czechoslovakia. They decided to go to a town called Vrchlabi to write in a hotel but went to a firemen's ball for amusement. What they saw inspired Forman and the others due to how they couldn't stop talking about how it was "such a nightmare". The result was a film of two distinctions: it was Forman's first color film, and it also would be his last film in his homeland, as he would switch over to the United States afterwards for films starting with Taking Off (1971). The film has had pretty favorable reviews in the half-century since release, although at the time, there were objections raised by some, because, well, fire companies apparently don't take nicely to films that seem to make fun of them (to the point where a little tour by Forman was needed to dispel that). The Prague Spring in 1968 curtailed the viewing power of the film for later years, but it was an audience hit for its time, and it also received a bit of distribution abroad. A select group of the actors involved with the film were actually people who were firemen in the small town that the film was shot in.
What we have here is basically a long setup for one big cosmic joke in 73 minutes, if you think about it. The setup in trying to do a ball in a small town with a raffle and a beauty pageant is handled by the volunteer fire department in a way that is squeezed for such wonderful satire. The satire of course isn't spelled out for you here, because Forman actually stated his intentions of being real and true that if achieved right, would "automatically reveal an allegorical sense." As such, it is an allegory that can be looked at in numerous perspectives beyond just poking at its root in a Communist country, particularly since you can always find something amusing within the best-intended plans in authority and bureaucracy. Well, that, and the evident cracks in the morals of a supposed nice small town where just about anything is possible in evanescent values when things basically become a case of one domino falling on top of another. There isn't exactly one big standout among the ensemble of bumblers, but that really just means they fit so well within the structure of the film in a collective showing of amusement for satire. They are locked in the roles that are needed in trying to serve what might be a serious story in a different world (doing a ball for their old boss dying of cancer) that ultimately sees them being about as effective in doing a ball as they would in trying to run a lemonade stand. The film is basically tied to two places: the venue where they host this ball and a sequence involving them trying to volunteer their services for an actual emergency involving a fire. Interpret how you like about how effective the film is with whatever sequence ranks best in effectiveness, although it is entirely possible that the opening sequence may go the best of all, since it involves such best-laid plans of trying to be sweet going right in with subsequent bumbling of a man on a ladder. The attempts at a beauty pageant also prove pretty biting in amusement, but my favorite moment of all involves an attempt to show order by turning off the lights in an attempt to give the crooks a chance to return the stolen goods only to find futility. As a whole, it is a pretty diverting film to spend time within the staging from authority for a certain goal that only goes to show how vision collides with reality in the strangest ways possible. For that, it is a pretty good start to go with in for Czech recommendations.
Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.
Next Stop: a film from....India.
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