Horí, má panenko

Reaching 70 years young in a few weeks, I was thinking about some of the films I most enjoyed when young and would I still enjoy them now? The Fireman's Ball seems to be a lost comedy here in the UK. It never pops up on TV and does not appear in film festivals or revival houses.What a loss to those who were not alive in 1967. If your a Brit reading this think Dad's Army and then fireman instead and your nearly there.Its country of origin is Czechoslovakia,with a little help from Italy, a big hit with a best foreign film Oscar, a running time of 73 mins and not one minute wasted.A town's fire department celebrating with a ball to honour it's retired elderly chief, a beauty contest and a large table with raffle prizes that vanish one by one, that's it,but oh boy it is good, totally droll and very funny.The punchline at it's end maybe posted but who cares. If only some of the comedies today knew when to stop. Really pleased that this was one old film I rerented.

Often hilarious comedy was an early effort by Forman. The characters reveal their attributes and flaws over the course of a drunken bash that involves stealing, sex, abundant alcohol consumption, and a Fireman's Ball Beauty Contest. Forman had to deny that there was a political message behind the film in Socialist late 60's Czechoslavakia. He has a rare talent for presenting humans, not necessarily pretty, but engaging and natural. Forman encourages us in an introduction to not think too much.

'The Firemen's Ball' (the Czech title is 'Horí, má panenko' - 'Fire, my doll!'), the last film made in Czechoslovakia by Milos Forman in 1967, before the 'spring of Prague' and the exile that moved his career to the West, is in my opinion not only his best film and the best film of the talented and courageous Czechoslovak film schools of the 1960s, but also, allegedly, the best film made in the communist countries behind of the Iron Curtain. It is a symbolic film, a precious jewel that in only 70 minutes concentrates sarcasm and the absurd, social and political criticism on the edge of the permissible under the conditions of censorship, and the refusal of the film mekers to be reduced to silence.

Somewhere in the socialist Czechoslovakia, the firemen committee organizes a ball in honor of the 86th birthday of their former chief. Birthday 85th had been omitted, and in the meantime the veteran of the guild has been detected with cancer, though he doesn't know it. The celebration is being prepared according to all the rules of this kind of activity, with a raffle from which the objects are stolen, first the ones of value and the consumables, then the smaller ones, finally everything disappears. A beauty contest is organized in which the young women are judged by their physical qualities, being are enlisted some on the basis of relationships, some on the basis of misogynistic criteria. Formalism and propaganda language, inefficiency and ineptitude of bureaucratic systems meet in a comedy of the absurd. Some of the satirized failures are systemic, others belong to human nature and its eternal morals and weaknesses. In one form or another the script of this film could have been written by Moliere or by Ionesco.

Forman's film is a concentrate of sarcastic satire. Each of the characters has his or her role in the story and his or her distinct personality, even if present on the screen for only a few seconds. The pace is marked by the choreography of the movement of the characters in the dance scenes in sync with the movements of the camera and by the soundtrack, in which the ball orchestra plays loud music. Laughter sometimes turns into a shout of pain, and the two final scenes are symbolic and at the same time of an irresistible black comic. Comedy of morals meets political cinema in this unique film. Seen today from a historical perspective, it can be said that 'The Firemen's Ball' describes all the reasons (bureaucracy, propaganda, corruption) that have led to the collapse of the structure of the communist states but is also a reflection upon human nature that transcends political systems and upheavals.

The Fireman's Ball was a very interesting film from director Milos Forman. I personally prefer Amadeus and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, but I was surprised at how good The Fireman's Ball was. My only real problem is the length, if anything I wished the film was longer.

That said, it is very well made with a realistic setting and superb editing. Forman directs wonderfully, the script is deep and funny and the story changing from gently mocking small-town manners to a blazing allegorical satire on the incompetence of the rulers drew me right in. The pace was taut, there are many details to be admired not just with the ball but with the satire and politics too and the acting is great.

All in all, a very interesting film but not the career-best film from a talented director such as Forman. It is still worth a watch though, and works on repeat viewings. 8/10 Bethany Cox

The Firemen's Ball (1967) **** Watching Forman's acclaimed comedy ''The Firemen's Ball'' was a very unique movie-going experience. It is filled with the extraordinary subtle humor, compassion for its characters, very realistic setting, acting & feeling and some brief satire. It got various reviews upon releasing. Some critics hailed it as a minimalistic masterpiece (Roger Ebert) others just was ''resistant'' to it's so-called charm (Leonard Maltin). I just know I wasn't. Judge for yourself. I can't, however, recall so sharp and intelligent script and so believable performances packed in mere 70 minutes. I find it superior to acclaimed Oscar winning Czech comedy filmed a year before by Jiri Menzel – ''Closely Watched Trains''. By the way, interesting note: Czechoslovakian movies were nominated four years in a row for the Best Foreign Language Oscar in 1960ies. ('65, '66, '67, '68). Two of them won it (''Shop on a main street'' in 1965 and ''Closely Watched Trains'' in 1967) and two didn't (''Loves of a Blonde'' in 1966 and ''The Firemen's Ball'' in 1968).