The Firemen's Ball

After a delay I'm getting back to my look at the films of Milos Forman. Next up is The Firemen's Ball, from 1967, Forman's last Czech film. He would go on to Hollywood, in exile, and the film, though seemingly a harmless comedy, was banned in Czechoslovakia "forever."

The Firemen's Ball is exactly what the title says it is. A volunteer fire company in a small city is having their annual soiree, and nothing seems to go right. A table full of raffle prizes is constantly being pilfered from (at one point, they turn out the lights to have the prizes replaced, but when they turn them back on there are more prizes missing), and the firemen have a torturous experience trying to put on a beauty pageant.

Forman used amateur actors, and one of the charms of the film is that there are no stars and no one of any particular beauty, which makes it realistic. Some of the men are missing teeth. The women gathered for the beauty pageant are a motley crew, but the men recruiting them or even more motley.

As to why this film was banned, it could be seen as a suggestion that the state is incompetent, but I think that's universal. Firemen had a better reason to be upset, as they are depicted as clueless bumblers. When there is a fire they can't get the fire engine unstuck from the snow so simply watch a man's house burn down. He's brought, in his sleepwear, dazed, to the ball and given raffle tickets. "I need money," he hopelessly wails.