I don't think there's a Milos Forman film that I'd seen that I hadn't liked. He's done, Man on the Moon, The People Vs. Larry Flint, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, just to name a few. His filmography is quiet small considering how long he's been working, but he's definitely a quality over quantity kind of guy.
I had heard about this film years ago but it was recently talked about in Criterion's new top ten section that they have on their website. I think I might make my own at some point and post it here on my blog. I've by no means seen as many Criterions as I should have, in fact there's a great number sitting on my shelves that I've never even seen. But enough about that...
For me when I watch a film like this it really helps me to put it into a context. In it's time period this film was amazing and evocative compared to what was going on in American cinema at the same time. Communism was strong. A lot of these people came from working out of the threatre and so they weren't the most visually stunning films at first.
The film is heavily improvised. Apparently Forman was working with several non-professional actors, and was worried that if they had the script before hand than they'd be practicing at night or on days off and suddenly would start to be directing by family and friends, which would mess him on up when they were on set, so he avoided it. It gives the scenes this wonderfully realistic quality and they all feel like real people, but it does tend to make the scenes go on a bit longer than they really need to.
The performances are wonderful. Hanah Brejchova is like a Czech version of Drew Barrymore. Face, body language. They two could easily play sisters.
Despite it being slow there is a lot to like in here. Some really wonderful and funny, heart-breaking, honest scenes. This is by no means a laugh out loud riot fest, but it's worth watching most certainly. The characters are wonderful and really interesting. I need to revisit some of the more recent Forman films. I like him.
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