O slavnosti a hostech (1966)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Jan Nemec

Writers:

Ester Krumbachová (screenplay)
Ester Krumbachová (story)

Release Date:

19 September 1968 (USA)

Plot:

Distinguished by being "banned forever" in its native Czech Republic, Jan Nemec's "A Report on the Party"...

Plot Keywords:

Conformity | Freedom | Surrealism | Hunting Dog | Satire

Cast

Ivan Vyskocil	...	Hostitel
Jan Klusák	...	Rudolf
Jiri Nemec	...	Josef
Pavel Bosek	...	Frantisek
Karel Mares	...	Karel
Evald Schorm	...	Manzelský
Jana Pracharova	...	Manzelský:
Zdena Skvorecka	...	Eva
Milon Novotny	...	Zenich
Helena Pejsková	...	Marta
Dana Nemcova	...	Nevesta Olinka
Antonin Prazak	...	Antonin
Josef Skvorecky	...	Guest

Also Known As:

A Report on the Party and the Guests (USA)
The Party and the Guests

Runtime:

USA:71 min

Country:

Czechoslovakia

Language:

Czech

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Filmové Studio Barrandov

Trivia:

Famous as being "banned forever" in Czechoslovakia after the Soviet invasion.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Fejezetek a film történetéböl: A cseh új hullám (#1.16)" (1990)

Another Masterpiece of the Czech New Wave

'A Report on the Party and the Guests' is not just a biting political allegory on Communism, it is also one of the most astute observations on human nature I have ever seen- which is what makes it universal.

The "plot" revolves around a group of friends who are having a picnic in the park one afternoon, but are eventually forced into going to a birthday celebration for a man they do not know. In order to gain his favor, some of the group betray a friend who left the party. The plot is actually loosely structured after the manner that Czechoslovakia was taken over by the Communists in the 50's, and the way the Czechs allowed it to happen. Interestingly for a film that was "banned forever" by the Communists, I found it to be more scathing in its depiction of the people who were seduced into the situation, and then collaborated with the party overseeres.

In a film with a surrealist plot, the acting is surprisingly realistic. The situation is so bizarre, but the film poses the question: if you were there would you have acted any different? The situation, after all, was very bizarre in real life too. The acting is excellent, the cinemetography is excellent, and Jan Nemec (whose Holocaust film 'Diamonds of the Night' I found to be disappointing) directs with a bold hand. This is a great film, and it's not just a history lesson. There's humor in it too, and it's very interesting from a psychological perspective. 10/10