Movie night: The Firemen’s Ball (1967)

firemensball1

Sunday August 25th, Movie night: The Firemen’s Ball (Miloš Forman, 1967, 71 minutes, In Czech with English subtitles). Original title: Horí, má panenko. Door opens at 20:00, film begins at 21:00.

The film follows a pattern common enough in Eastern Europe, where small human stories seem to be a slice of life, but might actually be subtle parables about the restrictive Soviet system. Screenplays had to be approved by censors, but many a change took place between approval and premiere, and in the case of “The Firemen’s Ball” that was almost fatal. The movie was co-financed by the Italian producer Carlo Ponti, but after Czech authorities withdrew their approval, Ponti pulled out, and only the intervention of French director Francois Truffaut saved the film and found it international distribution. […Lees verder]