My Sweet Little Village

1985 Czech comedy

Rating: 15/20

Plot: Life in a sweet little village.

This is a sweet little Czech movie about life in the sweet little village. There's an affair, there's a disgruntled worker, there's a plan to get an undesired member of the village out, and there's likely a murder, all these slice-of-life anecdotes that have a lot to do with the loss of innocence. Otik (played with almost entirely silent charm by Janos Ban) and Pavek Pavek (Marian Labuda) have this relationship that ended up really touching, earning the right for what really should have been a goofy ending featuring synchronized walking and hopping. My friend Eric, the guy who mentioned this movie without really recommending it, thought the two had a Laurel and Hardy vibe. There are a lot of humorous moments throughout, but this isn't all about the comedy. The key might be in the main characters' proximity to a cemetery. I like what this has to say about that aforementioned loss of innocence and human relationships.