O slavnosti a hostech . A Report on the Party and the Guests

A political thriller that satirizes unquestioning conformism. A group of happy picnickers are accosted by a group of strangers led by a bullying sadist who has an unbreakable hold over his followers. After he interrogates one of them, a stranger then invites everyone to a nonsensical, but elegant an...

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Bibliographic Details
Other Authors: Němec, Jan
Institution:Open Society Archives at Central European University
Language:Czech
Published: Czechoslovakia 1966
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10891/osa:61876b88-bc4f-4426-bee6-0fab6944e82e
Description
Summary:A political thriller that satirizes unquestioning conformism. A group of happy picnickers are accosted by a group of strangers led by a bullying sadist who has an unbreakable hold over his followers. After he interrogates one of them, a stranger then invites everyone to a nonsensical, but elegant and formal banquet outdoors. Nemec documents the process of self-deception and rationalization which lead to the acceptance of constraint; free will and freedom are seen as difficult to maintain and easily discarded. The affair is bizarre, and ends when one of the guests chooses not to remain and escapes. His companions agree that he must be recaptured, and the group arms and hunts him down. The film concludes with the nightmarish barking of search dogs.
Published:1966