The Fateful Adventures of the Good Soldier Svejk During the World War (original Czech title of Jaroslav Hasek's unfinished work, known internationally as The Good Soldier Svejk or The Brave Soldier Chveik) is a classic of world literature and the most translated novel in all of Czech literature.
It is the story of the adventures of a poor private soldier, of little intelligence but enormous loquacity, in the meanders of the great war, symbolizing the innocence and ignorance of the people, dragged into a terrible war by the ruling aristocracy and bourgeoisie, without even knowing the reasons why they were fighting.
This poor idiot, who nevertheless possesses an enviable instinct for survival against all adversities, the result of luck and his natural stupidity, is a tragicomic hero, a toy in the hands of power who survives against all logic and probability. A symbol of the absurdity of war.
The work has been adapted into everything from films, plays, an opera, comics, and the hero even has multiple statues and monuments in several countries.
This 1958 Poslusne hlásím, known as I Dutifully Report, is the sequel to the cinema adaptation of the novel made by Karel Stekly the previous year and is probably the best-known film adaptation of the work.
It is an unpretentious and popular film, a result of the success of the work and the previous adaptation, which, despite some funny moments, rarely captures the critical and philosophical spirit of the novel.
It is much more a comedy aimed at a less demanding audience than a fair tribute to the immortality of this modern Sancho Panza. But, even so, it is worth watching.
