A colorful comedy, in which people dance, steal and extinguish the fire.
The firemen of a provincial Czechoslovakian town throw a ball in honor of the old chief's retirement. There will be music and dancing, a beauty pageant and a raffle. The whole town will be in attendance. However, the proceedings are dogged by difficulty at every step. Workplace injuries, stolen prizes, a shortage of pretty girls... and fire.
Jan Vostrčil
Head of Committee
Josef Šebánek
Committee Member
František Debelka
Committee Member
Josef Valnoha
Committee Member
Ladislav Adam
Committee Member
Vratislav Čermák
Committee Member
Václav Novotný
Committee Member
František Paska
Committee Member
František Reinstein
Committee Member
Josef Řehořek
Committee Member
J. Řeháček
Commitee Member
Josef Kolb
Josef
Milada Ježková
Josef's Wife
František Svět
Old Man
Jan Stöckl
Retired Fire Chief
Antonín Blažejovský
Standa
Josef Kutálek
Ludva
Stanislav Holubec
Karel
Alena Květová
Růženka
Olga Blechová
Director
Miloš Forman
Writers
Miloš Forman, Vladimír Bor, Ivan Passer, Jaroslav Papoušek
Karel Mareš
Original Music Composer
Miroslav Hájek
Editor
Karel Černý
Production Design
Miroslav Ondříček
Director of Photography
Zdena Šnajdarová
Costume Design
deepkino
9/26/2025
Miloš Forman's final film in the Czech language is a pure critique of bureaucracy. Set entirely at a banquet honoring a dying, 86-year-old former fire chief, it masterfully depicts the event's descent into fiasco. The film exposes the decay of Czechoslovak society and its so-called socialism, making the audience smile and even laugh, all without ever compromising its sharp comedic edge. It is a rare work that brilliantly critiques authority through humor.
