Horí, Má Panenko (1967) (aka The Firemen’s Ball)
Czech
Milos Forman
“Never! In this situation, never. Remember that. The good name of the fire brigade means more to me than any honesty”
Cinema has evolved from being a medium of documentation and story-telling and to a medium of providing social, political and spiritual commentary of the era involved. But all such movies are not accepted with open arms. Tastes differ and so do ideologies. Films that have been against the political and religious ideologies of key organizations and powerful people have been shunned and their makers condemned. This was especially true of the films that were made in communist countries such as USSR and East-Germany. One such gem that came from the Czech Republic is Milos Forman’s Horí, Má Panenko (1967).
Running just over 70 minutes, the film follows a group of old firemen trying to organize a ball to honour their 86-year old chairman. In the party, they try to organize a beauty pageant by gathering the most beautiful females in the ball and asking the winner to present the “Golden Axe” to their chairman. Needless to say, it flops. None of the candidates have the guts to show up on stage and they go hide in the restrooms. Meanwhile, a lottery is also being organized whose prizes are being stolen by the people in the ball!. Worse, there is a big fire accident near the hall and everybody runs to go see it. The old owner of the burnt house is offered the proceedings from the lottery which eventually is scrapped due to all the prizes getting pinched. They finally try to get the criminals, in vain. As a final attempt they also try to honour the chairman themselves who has been a victim throughout the chaos.
The movie may appear amusing for its subtle humour throughout. But it gives a whack on the head when you consider it as a satire on the then ruling Czech government. A government ruled by a bunch of bumbling old men devising their own inconsequential plans, constant embezzlement of funds, the public who is left with nothing but promises – the film portrays all these using comedy as the medium. The film wouldn’t have seen the light of the day if it was not for François Truffaut who bought out the film’s rights before it was banned outright by the Russian during their invasion of the Czech Republic. The film was nominated for the Oscar for the best foreign film in 1969.
Once in a while, there comes a movie that shatters the beliefs of people on cinema and redraws the lines between right and wrongs of the medium. These are the films that redefine the boundaries of film making thus providing new standards and freedom for films to come. At a time when swearing on screen was a taboo, came the classic Gone With The Wind (1939) with the legendary “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.” quote. A Clockwork Orange (1971) that questioned induced goodness and evil in a very strong way, Straw Dogs (1971), famous for its graphic rape scene, Un Chien Andalou (1929) that introduced surrealism in cinema, the semi-snuff Cannibal Holocaust (1980) and its brutality – all these movies may have been snubbed by audience and critics at the time of their release, but no one can question their impact on the future generation of directors.
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