We had to wait decades for Jiří Menzel's realisation of Hrabal's fantastic novel – one of my all-time favourite books. Menzel has lost none of his joy, sensuality and lust for life, and the result is a film brimming with invention.
The book is the story of Jan Dítě, a smart but rather unsympathetic character whose "only aim in life is to be a millionaire", and his fortunes and misfortunes as Czechoslovakia passes from prosperous (or even, as here, sybaritic) republic, through Nazi occupation into Communism; a kind of Pilgrim's Progress through to a unique emancipation (which Menzel, a little confusingly, intercuts throughout).
Indeed, Hrabal may have intended Dítě to be symbolic of his country as a whole: a small, new country (dítě=child), downtrodden but rather cocky to begin, rapidly gaining in wealth and stature until cruelly divided on Nazi occupation between active resistance and passive collaboration; ambitious immediately after the war until crushed again, this time almost willingly, by Communism, then finally achieving a kind of nemesis in spite of itself. This may unduly romanticise the Communist régime, but I find Hrabal is a little guilty of this, despite being ironically critical elsewhere; perhaps he had to be. (I am English so forgive me if I have got this all wrong). Even so, his book (like others before) was rejected by the authorities in 1975 and remained unpublished for many years. Even the title was ironic: Dítě, of course, serves the Emperor of Ethiopia, not the King of England, who had been served by the head waiter of the Hotel Paří. As Dítě observes, this honour did him no good when he was taken away by the Nazis — just as Czechoslovakia was expediently shafted at Munich in 1938 by her English "allies".
***Minor spoiler in next paragraph***
Menzel's portrayal of the young Dítě is a little Chaplinesque, perhaps to enable the viewer to identify more readily with a character who, in Hrabal's hands, is less ambiguous and sympathetic. He also possibly overplays the slapstick a little, though again this may be his way of presenting Hrabal's wonderful storytelling, the condensing of which into under 2 hours of film is a true feat. But the film is such a joy to watch, from the droll introduction (which, incidentally, does not come from the book, in which Dítě only gets 2 years in prison), through the horrors and ambiguities of war, to the paradisiacal ending, that all minor quibbles are forgiven.
The two actors playing Dítě are superb, the set pieces perfectly choreographed, the sense of history in progress impeccable. And it's fun. Fans of the sublime "Closely Observed Trains" and "Postřiiny" (two earlier Hrabal/Menzel collaborations) will surely not be disappointed. Conversely, if you loved this film and desire more, I urge you to seek out these earlier masterpieces.
Here is Menzel with a big budget, and he's wonderful. It's been worth the wait.
The book is the story of Jan Dítě, a smart but rather unsympathetic character whose "only aim in life is to be a millionaire", and his fortunes and misfortunes as Czechoslovakia passes from prosperous (or even, as here, sybaritic) republic, through Nazi occupation into Communism; a kind of Pilgrim's Progress through to a unique emancipation (which Menzel, a little confusingly, intercuts throughout).
Indeed, Hrabal may have intended Dítě to be symbolic of his country as a whole: a small, new country (dítě=child), downtrodden but rather cocky to begin, rapidly gaining in wealth and stature until cruelly divided on Nazi occupation between active resistance and passive collaboration; ambitious immediately after the war until crushed again, this time almost willingly, by Communism, then finally achieving a kind of nemesis in spite of itself. This may unduly romanticise the Communist régime, but I find Hrabal is a little guilty of this, despite being ironically critical elsewhere; perhaps he had to be. (I am English so forgive me if I have got this all wrong). Even so, his book (like others before) was rejected by the authorities in 1975 and remained unpublished for many years. Even the title was ironic: Dítě, of course, serves the Emperor of Ethiopia, not the King of England, who had been served by the head waiter of the Hotel Paří. As Dítě observes, this honour did him no good when he was taken away by the Nazis — just as Czechoslovakia was expediently shafted at Munich in 1938 by her English "allies".
***Minor spoiler in next paragraph***
Menzel's portrayal of the young Dítě is a little Chaplinesque, perhaps to enable the viewer to identify more readily with a character who, in Hrabal's hands, is less ambiguous and sympathetic. He also possibly overplays the slapstick a little, though again this may be his way of presenting Hrabal's wonderful storytelling, the condensing of which into under 2 hours of film is a true feat. But the film is such a joy to watch, from the droll introduction (which, incidentally, does not come from the book, in which Dítě only gets 2 years in prison), through the horrors and ambiguities of war, to the paradisiacal ending, that all minor quibbles are forgiven.
The two actors playing Dítě are superb, the set pieces perfectly choreographed, the sense of history in progress impeccable. And it's fun. Fans of the sublime "Closely Observed Trains" and "Postřiiny" (two earlier Hrabal/Menzel collaborations) will surely not be disappointed. Conversely, if you loved this film and desire more, I urge you to seek out these earlier masterpieces.
Here is Menzel with a big budget, and he's wonderful. It's been worth the wait.