Ebbywebby

This goofy Czech obscurity is just fair and a half-hour too long, but it's lots of fun to watch. It opens with a beleaguered wimp (who happens to play clarinet) deserting his army base, and it didn't click in my mind until the closing credits that the actor is late "Closely Watched Trains" director Jiri Menzel (aha). As he's running away from a military formation, the commander sends some soldiers after him but, when they try to shoot, everyone's rifles change to clarinets. Right, it's a pacifist fantasy. And there are some other magical transformations, such as a large anti-aircraft gun turning into a piano. Any weapons entering the base become instruments as soon as they cross the property's boundaries and, seemingly, all the soldiers also become virtuoso musicians and singers. Wacky! The story doesn't really go anywhere from there, unfortunately. The film is about 131 minutes, but the rest is mostly just song after song after song. Silly, beerhall-type songs. More about horns than guitar. No rock 'n' roll element at all and, in fact, the biggest American influence on the songs seems to be Louis Armstrong (whom you'll recall was riding a "Hello, Dolly!" wave at the time). Anyway, the exuberant base plans a big revue show, and some cute musical girls and the media arrive too. That's about it for story development, though thankfully the ending is strong. But all the actors are having so much fun that you can't help but enjoy yourself. I'm curious whether it was a success in Czechoslovakia, because the production values were higher than I expected and it really seemed like something that should have been a regional hit.