A film that's beautifully shot, has wonderfully natural performances, and deals with the universal theme of longing to find someone in life, told from the perspective of Andula, a young woman (Hana Brejchova, in her debut film). It's a pretty simple story but one of the things that sets it apart is how realistic its scenes are, e.g. The three middle-aged men awkwardly trying to make time with Andula and two of her friends at a dance, creepily plying them with alcohol, or the husband and wife bickering over the behavior of their son (Vladimir Pucholt), upset that Andula has turned up on their doorstep unannounced after the two have slept together. Once the son shows up in the early morning hours himself, fresh off of seeing some other woman, he's forced by his parents to sleep in their bed to avoid impropriety, where the arguing continues in a humorous (yet heartbreaking) way. The dialogue and mannerisms of the mostly non-professional actors in scenes like these, as well as in smaller moments, felt incredibly authentic.
The other thing that sets the film apart is how it shows the game of love between the sexes to be unfair, when played under the rules of conventional "morality." The men at the dance are already married, and yet they try to get the young women drunk to get them back to their place. The young piano player seems like a nice guy, but we find out he's also just doing what it takes to get laid, after which he moves on. Meanwhile, the young women are lectured on the importance of keeping their virginity intact. "A girl's honor is a precious thing," their housemother tells them, "If you don't treat it as such, don't be surprised if boys behave badly." The mother of the piano player blames Andula for showing up and calls her foolish, caring more about what her neighbors might think than the young woman's feelings. It's clear that for the men, sex=natural=good, whereas for the women, sex=shame=bad, but director Milos Forman is deft at showing us this, as well as the emotions that result. Andula has learned a painful lesson, one she'll later hide behind a false front with her friend, but it's doubtful that the young man has learned anything at all. We can easily imagine him as one of those boorish married guys at the dance in a couple of decades. This is just a lovely, heartfelt film, and was a near-miss for an even higher rating.
The other thing that sets the film apart is how it shows the game of love between the sexes to be unfair, when played under the rules of conventional "morality." The men at the dance are already married, and yet they try to get the young women drunk to get them back to their place. The young piano player seems like a nice guy, but we find out he's also just doing what it takes to get laid, after which he moves on. Meanwhile, the young women are lectured on the importance of keeping their virginity intact. "A girl's honor is a precious thing," their housemother tells them, "If you don't treat it as such, don't be surprised if boys behave badly." The mother of the piano player blames Andula for showing up and calls her foolish, caring more about what her neighbors might think than the young woman's feelings. It's clear that for the men, sex=natural=good, whereas for the women, sex=shame=bad, but director Milos Forman is deft at showing us this, as well as the emotions that result. Andula has learned a painful lesson, one she'll later hide behind a false front with her friend, but it's doubtful that the young man has learned anything at all. We can easily imagine him as one of those boorish married guys at the dance in a couple of decades. This is just a lovely, heartfelt film, and was a near-miss for an even higher rating.