Buttoners

Nobody does film like the Czechs. While they're most known for the Czech New Wave of the 60's and 70's, a foreign film buff should not ignore their contemporary works. Zelenka's "The Buttoners" will convince you to further explore the dark humor, twisted logic, and tranquil fatalism characteristic of Czech film. While I realize anyone who has dug so deep into Czech films to come across this has probably seen these, I want to take my soapbox moment to recommend the following: Classics - "The Joke," "Closely Watched Trains," "Fireman's Ball," "Diamonds in the Night," "Larks on a String." (Please don't consider this an exclusive list--keep exploring) Contemporary - "Panel Story," "Kolya," (Best Foreign Oscar, 1996), Another one, whose name I can't remember, but it is called the Czech "Reality Bites." Anyway, get into Czech film. Always keep in mind their history over the last century. It definitely matters.

Like one of the characters in the movie, Zelenka underlines human originality in his beautifully written, directed, acted, photographed and edited film. The film has a great sense of humor. Too bad it's not easy to find around -may be P.T. Anderson would have liked to see it; since he has a lot to learn from Zelenka on connecting various characters with each other, in a way that makes sense.

This is one of the better films I've seen in a while. It takes you to a series of bizarre inhabitants of Prague exactly fifty years after the A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. We get to see the man who cuts buttons of sofas with false teeth between his thighs, a man who spits at trains, the ghost of the pilot who dropped the bomb, and many more. At first the different stories don't seem to be connected, but gradually it all falls together.

It makes me angry when people describe this film as funny even I cannot avoid the fact that Petr Zelenka has unusual sense of humor. But he is a person that rarely laughs himself. He looks serious and distant like any other self-aware genius. I am much more delighted with his intelligence, his perfect feeling for details and his ability to entirely connect all little parts of this quite complicated story. He is not only a brilliant scenarist but also an extraordinary talented director who truly knows how to chose his actors. There are so many reasons to see this movie, not only once - so, if you have a chance, just grab it!

Very good movie, while watching it I remember "Night on earth" and "Mistery train". its all movies the same class and quality. There is nothing to add about how well-done, meaningful and multidimensional Knoflikari is. As bonus we can see there as actor probably the most famous modern Prague sculptor, author of Black Babies on Žižkov Television Tower, St Vaclav on dead horse, 2 men pissing on Czech republic and others. I bought this DVD only for getting first impression about modern Czech cinema and I think it was one of the best possible choice. As for me, last segment about ghost of American pilot was a bit of childish and primitive in Hollywood happy-end style, but maybe it's what Czech guy means about black Czech humor?