#144: FORMAN, Miloś: Loves Of A Blonde (1965)

FORMAN, Miloś (Czechoslovakia)
Loves Of A Blonde [1965]

Spine #144
DVD

With sixteen women to each man, the odds are against Andula in her desperate search for love — that is, until a rakish piano player visits her small factory town and temporarily eases her longings. A tender and humorous look at Andula's journey, from the first pangs of romance to its inevitable disappointments, Loves of a Blonde (Lásky jedné plavovlásky) immediately became a classic of the Czech New Wave and earned Miloś Forman the first of his Academy Award nominations.

85 minutes
Black & White

Monaural

in Czech

1:33:1 aspect ratio

Criterion Release 2002

Director/Writer

Screenplay/Story by Milos Forman, Jaroslav Papoušek and Ivan Passer.

Screenwriter credit: Václav Šašek.

Forman was 33 when he directed Loves of a Blonde.

Other Forman films in the Collection:

#145: The Fireman’s Ball (1967)

The Film

“Usually, when a film achieves instant acceptance, that means there is something wrong with it — that it is too obvious, too sentimental, or too eager to please ...” (Dave Kerr, see below)

Forman’s sophomore outing is a one-of-a-kind delight from the Golden Age of Czech cinema, and like most good Criterion films, this one pays dividends on repeat viewings.

A factory town in Communist Czechoslovakia. Andula (Hanu Brejchovou) and her two girlfriends are sitting stiffly at a mixer for the female workers and the newly garrisoned troops — reservists, older men. Three soldiers send the girls a bottle of wine. (Of course, the waiter delivers it the wrong table — to some homely and obviously overworked girls — at first.)

Later she meets the piano player at the dance, Milda (Vladimira Pucholta). Even later, the two find themselves together at Milda’s family residence. Milda’s mother (Milada Ježková) is wonderful.

Film Rating (0-60):

56

The Extras

The Booklet

Six-page wraparound with an essay by Kehr.

Commentary

None.

Video interview

with director Forman.

Good stuff about directing non-actors, like Andula and Milda’s mother ...

Deleted scene

additional material from the scenes with the family.

Extras Rating (0-40):

31

56 + 31 =

87

By Director

By Spine #