Overview

While Miloš Forman came to prominence making films in Hollywood, including two Best Director Oscars for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Amadeus, his roots in Iron Curtain Czechoslovakia set the stage for his later work. In what is his best known film from his days working before and during the Prague Spring, The Fireman’s Ball satirizes Communism. Set in a small Czechoslovakian town in the 1960s, the local firemen decide to organize a ball, however the proceedings are dogged by difficulty at every step. They plan to organize a beauty pageant at the ball, yet struggle tremendously to find enough pretty contestants. A lottery is planned for later in the evening, but the guests begin stealing the prizes. Then, inevitably, there is a fire in the town. It seems that whatever can go wrong, does go wrong.