a gem of an italian film. its the story of a man who leaves his town and his fiance to work in sicily for a year and a half, and all the muddled feelings that go along with making that decision. it doesnt follow a specific narrative logic and certainly not a chronological one. we get many asides, flashbacks, possible flash forwards all to give us a sense of loss and alienation these people feel. its a film that speaks the language of the mind, and that is rare.

certainly a good film though its definitely not kurosawa. mifune is amazing as per usual and it is beautifully shot as one would expect an epic of this sweep, but in being that it is limited. in my opinion.

not nearly as funny as the firemans ball, but a comedy with some mildly funny situations. but in the end sad and one of the lesser works of the czech new wave in my opinion. i prefer the shop on main street or closely watched trains. there are stretches in the film that were too full of dead space.

non-actors in a pretty great little czech comedy. the anti-establishment sentiments are leveled perfectly at the communist forms, though i think it can be applied to just about any prescribed system. unfortunately, tom hobbes was right, the honor system doesnt work but neither does total control. at the crowded fireman's ball people steal pretty much all the raffle prizes before the raffle even takes place, a completely failed beauty contest put together by sexually repressed old men of structure. pretty ripe comedy.