Larks on a String (1969/1991) Jeri Menzel

This long banned film from Jeri Menzel was something of a follow up to his astonishing success Closely Watched Trains. Had this been released in a timely fashion it may have very well been the centerpiece of the Czech New Wave. The film is imbued with all the subversive humor one would expect from the movement, and the film is so self critical its not surprising that it was banned. However so many films that were far tamer were also kept away from the public. The film takes place in a junkyard and one has to laugh when this group of workers goes on strike. A playful bit of spying on the women's prison camp made me think of the shower scene in Altman's MASH. The wheels of industry look to be coming to a crushing halt. Every line about the greatness of their nation comes with a grain of salt. I loved the old man in the group who consistently spouts revolutionary rhetoric. A clear highlight in this first part of my little marathon/fest.