To see any film for the first time some 30 or 40 years after its initial release is to attempt the impossible, to view it through eyes not in synch with the prevailing climate be it political, social or whatever and when a given film is laced liberally with satire and/or social comment it becomes that much more difficult to view it objectively. In the hands of a master like for example Billy Wilder (his script 'Ninotchka' is still a joy today despite its barbed topicality) the finished product transcends its immediate targets and survives as entertainment and so it is here. For the last film he made on his home turf Forman has fashioned a bauble that spins around a tribute to a retired fire chief and reflected in the bauble are the mores of Czech life at the time. The dinner is destined for disaster from minute One when even a prologue is fraught with problems. As the evening progresses and one by one the raffle prizes disappear - not least into the pockets of those ostensibly guarding them - and each would-be contestant in the Beauty Contest turns out to be less prepossessing than the last, so does the laughter content because the humor is based on keen observation and when finally and in circumstances less grandiose than the organisers envisaged the presentation is made it seems only fitting that the handsome case housing the ceremonial fire axe proves to be empty. A very charming and entertaining film.
Review of The Firemen's Ball
