Rok dábla (2002)

Director:

Petr Zelenka

Writer:

Petr Zelenka (writer)

Release Date:

7 March 2002 (Czech Republic)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Music

Plot:

Documentary maker Jan Holman follows the ultrafamous singer/songwriter Jaromír Novahica during his tour with the band Cechomor. The combination is very succesful, but it draws a heavy toll on the band members and Jan Holman.

Awards:

11 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Jaromír Nohavica	...	Himself
Karel Plíhal	...	Himself
Jan Prent	...	Himself
Karel Holas	...	Himself
Frantisek Cerný	...	Himself
Radek Poboril	...	Himself
Michal Pavlík	...	Himself
Radek Klucka	...	Himself
Jaz Coleman	...	Himself
Jitka Obzinová	...	TV moderator
Eliska Klimesová	...	Asylum director
Danuse Klichová	...	Journalist #1
Sasa Mika	...	Transvestite #1
Václav Glazar	...	Transvestite #2
David Fotter	...	Doctor

Also Known As:

Year of the Devil (International: English title)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

Czech Republic

Language:

Czech | English | Dutch

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Company:

Cestmír Kopecký

Trivia:

Jaromír Nohavica spent most of the nineties in rehab for alcoholism.

Charming film, but not one full of warmth and happiness

The easiest way to get maximum appreciation from this film is to skip the first 2 minutes. For some utterly bizarre reason there's a small selection of vox-pop mini interviews that introduce a comparative irrelevancy into the film, and severely lowered my expectations from the movie.

Fortunately, the guts of the movie had me hooked very quickly, music being one of the loves of my life, and the major and minor tribulations of musicians (really - not so much highs and lows but lows and lower lows) are ones that I'm not entirely unfamiliar with. Once you've made your way past the bottom of that depression, there are fortunately several highs for the protagonists, don't worry, so the film does cover the full spectrum. And there are plenty of smile-inducing moments, though this really isn't intended as a belly-laugh comedy.

I guess it would take a Czech to tell us how much of this documentary about a documentary is actually true, it's constructed so that everything apart from a few mystical bits is entirely possible.

Thinking about Spinal Tap is _not_ helpful while watching this film. Alas a few Tap-isms were, possibly accidentally, introduced into the film, but that could be due to Spinal Tap covering so many bases when it comes to the misfortunes of musicians.

Musically, the film is utterly beautiful, assuming that central/eastern European folk music doesn't annoy.

Definitely a film worth seeing. I saw it accompanied by green tea - but I suspect that next time I see it, and there will be a next time, I will accompany it with a few shots of vodka instead! Phil