Au feu les pompiers!

Without hesitation, I place "The Firemen's Ball" to the apex of world comedy, together with Buster Keaton's "The General", Stanley Kramer's "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad World", Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein" and Billy Wilder's "Some Like It Hot".

Funny-wise, this is the definition of INTELLIGENCE, WITS, SPIRIT, INSPIRATION, BRIGHTNESS. The laughs are coming non-stop, in an atrocious vein. But there is much more than that...

Yes, there is much more - because, all being said and done, we watch an extremely sad story... The poor blundering provincials, limited, foolish, ridiculous in their stupidity, pathetically try to have a good time, and they only arrive to set-up a grotesque, sub-human masquerade... Innocent in their insanity, childish in their ignorance, their solemn ball looks like a parade of apes dressed as human beings. And the (you-know-what) hits the fan at the moment when things get really serious: the fire at Pan Havelka's house. During that excruciating scene, we really see the fallacy of it all.

The ending - all of it! - is the top of the masterpiece. The solemn delivery of the homage (that was stolen also from its case!), followed by the dawn shot of the two poor old men covering themselves with the same blanket, under the gently beginning snow-fall, is worthy of Chaplin. Definitely, with this movie, Forman offered a priceless heritage to the world of cinema - and culture; and spirit; and HUMANITY.

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).

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 volunteer fire department in a small Czech town organizes a ball in a town hall with lottery and a beauty contest.They also plan to give a small fire axe as a 86- year old birthday gift to their honorary chairman who has a cancer (which he doesn't know).But things start going as wrong as they possibly could.Hori, Má Panenko (The Firemen's Ball) from 1967 is directed by Milos Forman.The other of its producers is Carlo Ponti.The movie uses mostly no real actors.The firemen are real firemen of the small town where it is set.But all of those people do a fine job.Jan Vostrcil plays Head of Committee.Josef Sebánek is Committee Member #2.Jan Stöckl is Retired Fire Chief.The movie has got some scenes to make you amused.It's most amusing when the man and the woman go under the table to play with each other.And when one of the beauty contestants takes off her clothes.Or when the old man starts walking towards the stage.This is the first film Forman shot in color.It is also the last film he made in his native Czechoslovakia.Then he went on to America to make some classics.

Milos Forman's best known film is probably the awarded 1975 mental institution tale One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest with Jack Nicholson, but his early Czechoslovakian movies are not to be missed either by admirers of his later work. The 1967 comedy The Firemen's Ball has been interpreted as an allegory for the Socialist system that had a major effect on how people lived in Eastern Europe at the time, but it also works as an entertaining little flick in its own right.

The loose plot was inspired by an actual firemen's ball that Forman and his screenwriter friends once attended. The aging fire department of a small village is arranging a ball in honour of their elderly chairman who is turning 86 and, unbeknownst to him, dying of cancer. The program is to include at least music, dancing, a beauty contest for the ladies and a lottery with various prizes, but it seems that Murphy's Law is alive and well in the village: the lottery prizes keep getting stolen at an increasing rate, nobody wants to participate in the beauty pageant and the general chaos grows more and more out of control. Soon the firemen get to demonstrate their occupational skills in a genuine incident.

Most of the actors were reportedly real firemen from the town where the movie was shot, but despite their lack of acting experience they fit in their roles perfectly. The grumpy men's arguments about the stressful arrangements are pretty hilarious, but the women are funny too even though their roles are somewhat smaller. Also, personally I didn't find any of the reluctant beauty contestants ugly at all, unlike the frustrated committee members! In addition, I should give a nod to the catchy ballroom music that is playing for a lot of the time and even references a Beatles song at one point. It is possible that the atmosphere-driven collection of errors and misadventures may feel aimless to some viewers who would prefer a stronger plot, but those with a fondness for looser narratives should find it easy to enjoy the firemen's adversities.

Besides the comical bumbling, there are also more melancholic moments in the short movie. The fire scene near the end carries a feel of powerlessness when an old man watches his house burn down while the firemen futilely try to put the flames out by shoveling snow into the fire. Still, the service of drinks is never interrupted during the turmoil, keeping up appearances no matter what. The whole plot line of the stolen lottery prizes also culminates in a wistful moment when the honorary chairman finally gets to accept his gift after sincerely thanking his colleagues for the help they have given over the years. This lack of the oft-mentioned solidarity among the masses (not so much among individuals) may have been what prompted the Czechoslovakian officials to originally ban the film "forever".

As for myself, I can say I enjoyed The Firemen's Ball more than Loves of a Blonde (1965), the other early Forman film I have seen at the moment. Czech cinema in general is something I'd like to get better acquainted with later, but for now I can say that The Firemen's Ball is probably my favourite of the handful of movies I have seen from the country.