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Portmanteau or omnibus films were really popular for the auteurs of the 1960s, but none of them have really lasted in the cinematic memory, have they? There's only one that I've seen that I've loved, Spirits of the Dead, the Edgar Allen Poe film by Vadim, Malle and Fellini. Sure, there are some really good segments that have been made. Pasolini's La Ricotta from Rogopag is especially excellent. But the way these films can vary in quality is what makes them generally so forgettable. Pearls of the Deep, a portmanteau from the Czech New Wave, unfortunately only varies from decent to terrible. Two segments are watchable, those by Menzel and Jires. Jires' is the best of the bunch, about a young man who falls for a gypsy girl, but even it is only tolerable. Chytilová's segment was boring at first, but then she creates this visually lovely scene where a bride in her flowing veil walks around in slow motion. It's the best sequence in the entire film, even if the rest of this short is forgettable. The shorts by Nemec and Schorm are rather pointless. All in all, worth skipping, especially as the Facets DVD is, as is usual for them, godawful.

I've been drinking so I'll make this quick. What we have here are five short films from five different directors of the Czech New Wave, based on the stories of Bohumil Hrabal.

Though some are more successful than other (the standouts being Jires' "Romance" and Schorm's "Dum Radosti") this is a more than worthwhile anthology.

Existing in all the stories is the desire to communicate and be social, but each stories is told with a refreshing directorial style: from observational objectivity, to absurd surrealism, to cynical social commentary.

I'm not prepared to probe much further currently, but if you've seen anything from the Czech New Wave, and enjoyed its blend of humanism, humour, and cinematic vigilance, then this is a film certainly worthy of your time.

NOTE: Though I'm sure someone will eventually offer something better, I felt the need to write this only because there is currently one other review for this film and I disagree with it!