Ice hockey is a Czech national obsession, and the country's victory over Russia in the 1969 World Championships, the year following the Soviet invasion, is a celebrated moment in its history. In Marek Najbrt's black comedy, the heroic exploits take place only on a black and white tv screen as a group of representative misfits gather and watch the game in a desolate village on the Czech border. While consisting of recognisable types, Najbrt's bleak portrait reveals a world of alcoholism, debt, racism, bigotry, and infidelity that trails behind the dreams of nationalism and bears little resemblance to the fantasies of the new consumerism. A clever and multi-levelled film, it provides a sharp antidote to the reconciliatory charms of the conventional Czech comedy.
Directed by Marek Najbrt
Your score–
Not scoredImages
Cast
Related
Eleanor the Great
Port Authority
The Pumpkin Eater
Resurrecting the Champ
Kid Galahad
Killer's Kiss
TalhotBlond
The Sound of Silence
My Dinner with Hervé
WWE WrestleMania XXIV
Tigertail
What Maisie Knew
Adam
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds
Five Minutes of Heaven
Mr. Turner