Who would have thought that a film set in the months leading up to the Prague Spring could be such fun? Maybe it’s the 60’s Czech rock soundtrack or the humorously failed suicides. Tensions come to a boil between two ideologically-opposed, neighboring families in Prague in 1967. The swooping camera, ubiquitous in films about people who live in apartment complexes, finds young Michal trying to commit suicide because, he tells us, he is sooooo in love. The support for his noose, a gazebo roof, comes tumbling down as he steps off the stool sending a young girl flying down to him, scolding him. From there on I was hooked on the sweet but serious love triangle between the two young neighbors and the girl’s handsome Elien who models himself after Mick Jagger and Jim Morrison. Like a more mirthful Mike Leigh, Hrebejk brings out the private moments of people’s lives for all to see and admire.
