Loves of a Blonde [1965]

Before Czech émigré Milos Forman earned recognition in Hollywood for movies like One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Amedeus, he’d already directed a couple of wonderful movies in his homeland – Loves of a Blonde being one of them. A delightful comedy and a subtle satire on the then Czechoslovakian society, Loves of a Blonde is a movie any director would be extremely proud to have in his oeuvre. Containing a distinctly Czech sense of humour – light-hearted on the surface, but with a deeply impactful social commentary underneath, the movie is about a fragile, naïve young girl who lives in a town where women heavily outnumber men. She lives a banal and unspectacular blue-collar existence, only punctuated by her comically tragic relationships with men, including one with a wonderfully opportunist piano player from Prague, leading to some memorable situational comedy at his parents’ house. The movie could have very well been one on disillusionment and cynicism; instead what we have is deliberately low-key, delectably whimsical and immensely enjoyable for discerning viewers. The tone is never scathing or bitter, rather it is gentle and understated. The acting is almost flawless, thanks in large parts to Forman’s brilliant selection of cast. This timeless gem really succeeded in making me smile and in inducing a tinge of sadness somewhere very deep, at the same time.

Director: Milos Forman
Genre: Comedy/Social Satire/Political Satire
Language: Czech
Country: Czechoslovakia