directed by Miloš Forman, comedy, 89 min, eng subtitles
written by Miloš Forman
with Hana Brejchová, Vladimír Pucholt, Vladimír Menšík
Like all her friends from the women's hostel, Andula, a working-class blonde, longs for love. Although her Tonda has bought her a ring, he is still far from a girl's dream man. The young women work at a large industrial plant employing some two thousand women which means that the small town where the factory is located suffers from a complete shortage of men. Even the stationing of an army unit in the town fails to bring a solution since basically only older and mostly married reservists get posted there instead of young men. At a dance party, these "oldies" try to approach the local girls but the results are awkward. Andula, however, is lucky. She meets Milda, the young piano player in the band performing that night, and spends the night with him. The boy goes back to Prague and Andula does not hear much from him. She decides to take things into her own hands - one Saturday she turns up in Prague. Milda is not at home but his parents let the strange girl in, although with rudely obvious misgivings. Milda is a bit of a mama's boy and spectacularly unfaithful to everyone so the situation gets tricky for all parties involved.
Awards:
Oscar, Golden Globe and Golden Lion nominations
Bodil Awards (Best European Film)
Jussi Awards (Best Foreign Director)