This film is currently unavailable
Cutting It Short
Warmly nostalgic look at small-town life from Oscar®-winning director Jiří Menzel (Closely Observed Trains).
Director: Jirí Menzel
Overview
A much loved piece of classic Czech cinema tells a delightful comic story based on the work of Bohumil Hrabal, in which Menzel and Hrabal (whose collaboration on Closely Observed Trains earned them an Oscar) recreated the 1920s world of Hrabal's childhood in the Nymburk brewery. The peaceful family harmony provided by the balance between Maryška, his charming, outgoing and emancipated mother and Francin, his earnest but shy and reserved father is shattered by the unexpected arrival of eccentric uncle Pepin, a loud storyteller and globetrotter. Look out for many memorable set pieces such as the cutting of Maryška’s magnificently long hair to the dismays of the male population of the town, her subsequent public punishment and a chimney climbing scene straight from the Harold Lloyd or Buster Keaton playbooks. A pure delight, it is a lyrical film evoking childhood memories full of ridiculous situations, quirky humour and tempting looking beer.
The 4K digital restoration is by Národní filmový archív, Prague. Part of the 25th Made in Prague Festival, 7 November – 10 December 2021, organised by the Czech Centre London.
Related
Memoir of a Snail Memoir of a Snail
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2024 95 mins Director: Adam Elliot
Nick Cave and Sarah Snook voice an Oscar-nominated stop-motion classic of divided twins, told with adult candour and uncanny warmth.
Santosh Santosh
Drama 2023 128 mins Director: Sandhya Suri
A housewife-turned-cop is sucked into a high-profile case that has polarised the local community in this taut, north India-set thriller.
Night Games Night Games
Drama 1966 105 mins Director: Mai Zetterling
In Mai Zetterling’s scathing rebuke of European entitlement, a man returns to his childhood home and confronts his repressed memories and desire.
Loving Couples Loving Couples
Drama 1964 118 mins Director: Mai Zetterling
Three expectant mothers on a maternity ward recall their personal and sexual experiences in Mai Zetterling’s bold, subversive debut.
The Girls The Girls
Drama 1968 100 mins Director: Mai Zetterling
Three stage actresses starring in Aristophanes’ classic play Lysistrata start to draw parallels with their own lives in Mai Zetterling’s feminist comedy.
Pacifiction Pacifiction
Drama 2022 165 mins Director: Albert Serra
Albert Serra’s hypnotic Palme d'Or-nominated drama about the greed and hypocrisy of colonial power in Tahiti.
The Outcasts The Outcasts
Fantasy 1982 106 mins Director: Robert Wynne-Simmons
Haunting Irish folk-horror, from the writer of The Blood on Satan’s Claw, about an introverted farm girl suspected of witchcraft.
Memoir of a Snail Memoir of a Snail
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2024 95 mins Director: Adam Elliot
Nick Cave and Sarah Snook voice an Oscar-nominated stop-motion classic of divided twins, told with adult candour and uncanny warmth.
Santosh Santosh
Drama 2023 128 mins Director: Sandhya Suri
A housewife-turned-cop is sucked into a high-profile case that has polarised the local community in this taut, north India-set thriller.
Night Games Night Games
Drama 1966 105 mins Director: Mai Zetterling
In Mai Zetterling’s scathing rebuke of European entitlement, a man returns to his childhood home and confronts his repressed memories and desire.
Loving Couples Loving Couples
Drama 1964 118 mins Director: Mai Zetterling
Three expectant mothers on a maternity ward recall their personal and sexual experiences in Mai Zetterling’s bold, subversive debut.
The Girls The Girls
Drama 1968 100 mins Director: Mai Zetterling
Three stage actresses starring in Aristophanes’ classic play Lysistrata start to draw parallels with their own lives in Mai Zetterling’s feminist comedy.