6/10
A movie in search of itself
11 December 2006
Warning: Spoilers
"Loves of a Blonde", for some obscene reason, is listed as a comedy.

Perhaps that was Milos Forman's intention when the movie was first released in 1965. I ask anyone who has seen the movie to please enlighten me on what was funny (aside from the scene with Milda's parents, which was more pathetic than humorous).

What really makes the film intriguing is its unintentional voyeuristic quality. The Black & White film magnificently highlights the Czech countryside, where we meet Andula - a worker in a local shoe factory. Andula and her friends outnumber the men by some ridiculous margin and the factory owner gets the People's Army to station soldiers there. Unfortunately, the soldiers are old and mostly married. They have a party one night at a local bar and she meets Milda, a musician with the band.

The seduction scene between Milda and Andula takes up most of the film but everything about it still resonates today (which is basically a guy will do or say anything to get into a girl's pants). Unfortunately, Andula takes him seriously when he says to come visit him in Prague, which she does.

SPOILER ALERT Andula, with suitcase in hand, shows up at his home in Prague. What she doesn't know is that Milda lives with his parents. The father is actually a likable character who feels sorry for Andula. Milda's mother on the other hand gave me nightmares (condescending, controlling, and downright creepy). Milda eventually comes home (after seducing yet another girl) and to his parents pretends not to know Andula and denies ever inviting her. (When with Andula alone he's quite different). His mother eventually grabs him and throws him into the parents' bed to get some sleep. Mind you, this is not a 4-year old having a nightmare - this is a grown man who likes to seduce young virgins. Perhaps the comedy is in their trying to position themselves as they try to sleep (which is hard, considering its three adults and the mother refuses to shut up. All the while, Andula is on the other side of the door, listening)

SPOILER ALERT Although Andula and Milda are quite fascinating (as is the conditions and times they live in), I was quite disappointed with its beyond ambiguous ending. Its as if the last pages of a book you were reading were ripped out. You see Andula back with her friends (you have no clue how she got there) and lying about how it was great seeing his parents. Duh??

For style and historical content, however, I would recommend it.
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