Cutting it Short(Postřižiny)
Dir: Jiří Menzel
Czechoslovakia, 1981, Czech, 93mins, DCP
Cast: Magda Vášáryová, Jiří Schmitzer, Jaromír Hanzlík
Infusing the first chapter of his trilogy of country life with natural light, warm colours, and groovy fun, Menzel visualises Hrabal’s childhood memories in a painterly nostalgia. Hailed as one of the best post- Tati comedies, it’s a rose-tinted tale about the writer’s father, an earnest brewery manager trying to impress the board to secure his position, and his mother, a free-spirited woman whose blissedout demeanour and long golden hair enchant every soul. The couple’s domestic happiness is disrupted by the arrival of the husband’s eccentric brother, in whom she finds a kindred spirit and makes the jealous husband all the more painful.
Venice Film Festival: Special Mention