DVD Review - The Firemen's Ball
This is Milos Forman's first film in color and his last made in his homeland of Czechoslovakia. The story is a rather simple one. A group of firemen want to honor their former chief who is now 86 years old and in frail health. They organize a ball and raffle. In addition, they want to have a beauty contest in which the winner will award the older man with a special gift.
But things start to go haywire. Several of the raffle prizes are stolen. The men have trouble finding women who want to be in the beauty contest. And when they finally start the beauty
contest most of the women refuse to go on the stage. And in the middle of everything there is a nearby fire that needs to be put out.
This film is a great satire and there are numerous laughs. But there is more to it than meets the eye. The fire department is a metaphor for the Communist Party which ruled at that time. In a pivotal scene one of the firemen said that the honor of the fire department was more important than being honest. So there you have it. Forman had first hand experience with the Party because they censored the film. In a wonderful interview with him on the DVD will you find out more about this film and you will understand why he left his native country to live in the US.
The Firemen's Ball is a very short film (only 73 minutes) but that is all the time this little gem (which was nominated for a foreign film Oscar) needs to get its point across. Highly recommended.
But things start to go haywire. Several of the raffle prizes are stolen. The men have trouble finding women who want to be in the beauty contest. And when they finally start the beauty
contest most of the women refuse to go on the stage. And in the middle of everything there is a nearby fire that needs to be put out.
This film is a great satire and there are numerous laughs. But there is more to it than meets the eye. The fire department is a metaphor for the Communist Party which ruled at that time. In a pivotal scene one of the firemen said that the honor of the fire department was more important than being honest. So there you have it. Forman had first hand experience with the Party because they censored the film. In a wonderful interview with him on the DVD will you find out more about this film and you will understand why he left his native country to live in the US.
The Firemen's Ball is a very short film (only 73 minutes) but that is all the time this little gem (which was nominated for a foreign film Oscar) needs to get its point across. Highly recommended.
posted by Film Fanatic | 2:56 PM
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