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The Firemen's Ball


THE FIREMEN'S BALL
(1967, Forman)
A film with the word “Fire” in its title



"We'd be better off with five fires... but no!"

Back when I was a kid, you could've asked any little kid what do you want to be when you grow up, and chances are that the response was going to be "a cop" or "a firefighter". There is both a sense of action and heroism inherently attached to both jobs that it's understandable for young kids to be drawn to that. And as adults, we put our trust into these people for saving our lives shall the time come. We trust them to be brave, heroic, and smart, which I assume is usually true... with some exceptions, which is what we see on this film.

Set in Czechoslovakia during the rule of the Communist Party, The Firemen's Ball follows the bumbling members of the volunteer fire department of a small town as they prepare for their annual ball. During the event, we are witness to their attempts to organize a pageant with almost no contestants, a raffle where most people ends up stealing the prizes, and a recognition to their retiring chairman, all of which goes wildly awry.

The film follows a fairly loose narrative, as we watch the different events unfold. There are a few chuckles to be had at some of the exchanges. However, the film does spend a good chunk of its time showing these "old" men trying to gather contestants for their beauty pageant, by ogling at young girls, most of which are hesitant to participate. All this segment felt awkward and cringe-inducing, particularly because they spend what seems like a lot of time at it.

Once we move past that, I had a bit more fun with the rest of the shenanigans, which even include a fire breaking out at a nearby house, forcing the firemen to leave. Forman has said that he and fellow screenwriters were inspired after attending an actual firemen's ball in a small town which they described as "a nightmare". However, the film is usually read as a satire of the communist system, with the corruption of the whole town as well as the failure of most of the plans.

To sum it up, I found the first half to be rather uncomfortable and the film overall wasn't as funny as I would've expected, but it was nonetheless interesting and there were some laughs to be had.

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