Country: Czechoslovakia
Type: Feature
Year: 1967
Duration: 70 minutes
Language: Czech with Ukrainian subtitles
ABOUT THE FILM
At the center of the plot is a firefighters' ball to which all the residents of a small town are invited. The grand celebration, featuring a beauty contest and a lottery, quickly descends into chaos, making disaster seem inevitable.
"Burning, My Lady!" is a brilliant comedy and a biting satire of communist society. The film mostly features non-professional actors, who are residents of the Czech town that inspired Forman and where the filming took place.
This is the third feature film by Miloš Forman, and it was the last of his Czech period before he emigrated to the USA. The tragicomedy "Burning, My Lady!" is considered one of the best examples of the Czech "New Wave." However, at the time, the film was pulled from distribution for its allegedly distorted portrayal of socialist reality, and information about its Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film was suppressed. The satirical and revealing "Burning, My Lady!" returned to the big screens shortly before the dissolution of Czechoslovakia.
“The celebration when everything around is burning is precisely the kind of satire that remains relevant. People are celebrating while the city burns—this is the essence of this simple and brilliant film.
One of the most inventive films that every intelligent person on this doomed planet should watch. I can’t imagine how this film was allowed to be made in “socialist” Czechoslovakia. I adore it and am delighted that I had the opportunity to recommend it for a communal viewing in Uzhhorod, where the Czech theme is so close to the locals.”
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Miloš Forman – an American director of Czech origin. In Czechoslovakia, he was a significant figure in the Czech "New Wave" cinema movement. After emigrating to the USA in 1968, he gained fame in Hollywood. Forman directed "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (winner of 5 Oscars), "Amadeus" (winner of 8 Oscars), and "The People vs. Larry Flynt" (2 Oscar nominations and 2 Golden Globes).
AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
Nomination for the Academy Award in the category of "Best Foreign Language Film"