A Report on the Party and the Guests

1966 movie

Rating: 15/20

Plot: A group of picnickers are bullied and later fed by a creepy guy.

First--no, I do not know for sure that this is the right poster. But just look at that. You're telling me you're not rushing out to buy tickets to a movie after seeing this poster? I'm wondering if it's the wrong poster because although I don't speak Czech, that title looks like "A slobbering hostage" to me instead of A Report on the Party and the Guests. This movie was actually "banned forever" at one point, but it wasn't because of the poster. No, that was because this movie attacks the idea of conformity in a unique and subversive way. That or it has characters having an elaborate dinner party by a lake which might be dangerous. This movie has a Bunuel feel, probably because the characters are enjoying an elaborate dinner party. And like the last Bunuel movie I wrote about, this one feels a little like a cinematic joke but with a punchline that isn't as satisfying. Although the situations are very strange, the movie isn't really funny. As a matter of fact, the vibe I got from the whole thing was more in the neighborhood of creepy. It's a short film that I'm glad that I watched, but I wonder if I'll remember it in a few months.