O Slavnosti a Hostech (1966)
Directed by Jan Nemec
Genres - Drama |
Sub-Genres - Psychological Drama |
Run Time - 71 min. |
Countries - Czechia |
MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson
This experimental Czechoslovakian film seems disturbingly akin to the works of Spain's Luis Bunuel. A group of happy picnickers runs afoul of Jan Klusak, a bullying sadist who has some sort of unbreakable hold over his followers. Klusak subjects the picnickers to a cruel psychological game, wherein he plays interrogator. The ordeal comes to a brief end when a stranger (Ivan Vyskocil) arrives, apologizes for Klusak, and invites everyone to an elegant, formal outdoor banquet. But the bizarre "fun and games" continue, ending with the group embarking on a fully armed hunting party in search of a missing guest. Built on the premise of unquestioning conformity, Report on the Party and the Guests (O Slavnosti a Hostech) was a typically iconoclastic effort from the husband-and-wife director-screenwriter team of Jan Nemec and Ester Krumbachova.
Characteristics
Moods
Themes
Keywords
allegory, anger, ban, brutality, Czechoslovakia, Fascism, forest, guest, intolerance, New-Wave, party, persecution, picnic, prejudice, search
Attributes
High Artistic Quality