Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Griff Lees Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

framptonhollis While "The Firemen's Ball" is looked upon as one of the finest allegorical satires of communism of all time, I had no idea what to expect before viewing it. I only knew it as a famous Czech comedy from the masterful filmmaker Milos Forman (a man whose name may not be household, but whose films certainly are, most notably "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Amadeus"), and had no knowledge of its political context. After sensing some heavy satirical vibes that I could not exactly code, I learned about the time and place in which this film was made, and its overall political context.However, although the political context is a key to uncovering this comedy's genuine mastery, this is an entertaining and stunning movie all meanings aside. It is short, faced paced, witty, ironic, full of constant(ly hilarious) gags, and is even poignantly melancholic at times. There is sadness and sorrow hidden deep within this farcical romp, as brief moments flicker with an inner pain. Forman does not create any melodrama, but simple sprinkles bites of poeticism throughout this gigantic joke in a way that is subtle and, therefore, brilliantly effective.If one simply ignores the meanings and contexts behind this masterpiece, there is still a wonderfully funny and occasionally sad comedy to behold that will entertain almost any avid moviegoer. Fans of filmmaking (and especially comic/satiric filmmaking) MUST witness this brilliant and brief laugh riot as soon as possible, for it is among the finest art house comedies ever made.

bure998 i really enjoyed the first 3/4ths of this movie. it was quaint, cute, clever and a bit off-the-wall, with likable characters and a simple but funny plot line. the scenes with the beauty show contestants and how they reacted to what was going on were priceless! without giving too much away, a fire occurs nearby while the party is going on, the whole town goes to help, and the happy, fun feel of the movie turns to depressing. the very last scene is especially heartbreaking concerning the 86-year-old former administrator. maybe my take on the first part of the movie is a bit pie-in-the-sky, but i wish the movie could have kept the silly, sweet, happy, small-town feel all the way through.

N. N. "Horí, Má Panenko" is a very intelligently lain out film about people - people in general.This kind of comedy always comes in handy when there's a huge public effort underway to turn them into heroes. The lay out is intelligent, because it focuses on old people, of whom such propaganda would speak of as unpleasant residues and who are hence free to behave in any unpleasant way.Old people from a small village somewhere in the province. That makes it even safer.So, after establishing that there's enough room to deflect any criticism of doing that what one is actually doing - namely using the unpleasant residues as a mirror image of the so called heroic elements of society.And what to say, people are nasty! They steal and portray themselves as St. Martins at the same time. They steal and make those who suspect them of that look like senile paranoiacs. They envy others property and hide it behind well meant care for them. Essentially, it's a film about people who want to have that what they like for themselves without thinking about other people. They don't always get what they want, but they always want the best, even if they are ever so small.The high light of the film is the fate of the lottery, "Moe" should have watched this, at least he'd kept his trousers then. But though the "Simpsons" film is funny, the original is even funnier.

mariacaswell I liked this movie, but then I like slower moving movies with actors that look like real people. This film gives real historical insight into a communist society, including how artists such as Forman tried to get a message through without being completely censored. I have a question about this film, however. I keep reading and hearing that this film uses no professional actors, and the firemen you see are the real firemen from a small town in Bohemia. However, several of these actors were also in Loves of a Blonde, which was an earlier film. So, I surmise that some of the firemen were the real firemen, and others were actors he had used before. This film is well worth seeing. I laughed aloud several times, and smiled through all of it. He has a gift for the small moments of humor and pathos in anyone's life, and it is quite a humorous comment on Czechoslovakian communist society.