The Firemen's Ball

A brilliant comedy that is more chilling than funny. Under the commies, every critical film was said to hold up a mirror, and that is very accurate for this film. The fire brigades protested, but it's not about them at all, this film has a much deeper message. The scene with the old man at his burning house is one of the saddest I've ever seen. (13/04/2003)

The best film by Miloš Forman, among those he created before leaving for America. At the same time, it is a sophisticated and disturbingly effective sarcastic allegory of real communism in the Czech environment. Filled with biting lines, humorous situations, excellent acting, and smart filmmaking that helped Forman make a name for himself internationally. "Move his bed closer to the fire so he can warm up." Despite the undeniable cruelty of many scenes, I really love this film. The foreign producer was once desperate about the selection of girls for the beauty queen contest, but evidently did not understand that the director was aiming for something entirely different. Overall impression: 95%. (13/06/2006)

It's actually a sad movie about how stupid and hypocritical people are. I have to say, except for a few scenes, I wasn't amused, more like I wanted to cry when I saw it. The fact that there are non-actors, the dialogue is life-like, and the director is Milos Forman did nothing for me. If you hate people for a while after watching it, I hope you won't be surprised. (01/02/2010)

The Firemen’s Ball is my favourite of Forman's Czech films from the 1960s, and from time to time I like returning to it, with its exceptionally curious choice of a beauty queen (well - actually just a selection of candidates) and the bizarre prizes of the raffle slowly disappearing, while a feeling of boundless (but very desirable) awkwardness grows to unprecedented proportions during the screening. The ubiquitous humorous touch is transformed into a dense, even poignant feeling at the end – during the cottage fire I felt an unpleasant chill down my spine. Now a cult classic of its genre, it has an exquisitely timeless atmosphere. (20/11/2023)

Tragicomic film, where personally I feel more emphasis on the tragedy because even though the movie is quite relaxed, I can't help but see how people behave and how these caricatures in Forman's film are real. Hypocrisy, greed, disrespect, and mediocrity, all hidden under the fact that you have some, basically any title. (21/06/2015)