Running time: 91 minutes
Starring: Vit Klusak, Filip Remunda
Rating 4 out of 10
In 2002, two young Czech film students had a bright idea. Disillusioned by the rampant consumerism they saw in the growing Czech economy and the political compromises needed to gain entry into the European Union, the two students decided upon an elaborate practical joke. They would invent a fictitious new hypermarket, market and brand it, and build the front of it in a large field outside of Prague. Then, on an appointed day, they would open the gates to an unsuspecting public.
Vit Klusak and Filip Remunda's film, made for their final year film course, caused a stir in its native country and went on to win several awards (mostly in Eastern Europe). The big idea was to create a grand folly out of nothing, and the elaborate means they go to in order to create advertising and marketing for it makes their work occasionally interesting, if a little naïve.
Playing on the foibles of a society desperate to pull itself out of its Communist past is perhaps an easy target, but the two film-makers are determined to ask some soul-searching questions about the society they live in. One of the problems the film has is that they rarely provide satisfactory answers.
Another issue is the fact that the two film-makers appear in the final product. Whereas Michael Moore or more recently Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) come across as affable and well-educated commentators, Klusak and Remunda don't appear to have much of a clue as to exactly what they are trying to do. They are hardly exciting screen presences, and it soon becomes clear that the monster they have created has devoured them intellectually.
The film is not without its interesting moments, notably on opening day when hordes of excited Czechs turn up to the field in anticipation of bargains galore. They seem as flummoxed as the directors themselves when all they discover is a façade, and the rather simplistic message of the film appears to be that advertising works.
Anyone looking for a more erudite and well thought-out look at globalization and market forces should watch Dan Ollman's entertaining 2003 documentary The Yes Men, which delivers its message in a far more thought-provoking manner. As for Klusak and Remunda, while their film is a decent student effort, for their next project they must do better.
Paul Hurley
Vit Klusak and Filip Remunda's film, made for their final year film course, caused a stir in its native country and went on to win several awards (mostly in Eastern Europe). The big idea was to create a grand folly out of nothing, and the elaborate means they go to in order to create advertising and marketing for it makes their work occasionally interesting, if a little naïve.
Playing on the foibles of a society desperate to pull itself out of its Communist past is perhaps an easy target, but the two film-makers are determined to ask some soul-searching questions about the society they live in. One of the problems the film has is that they rarely provide satisfactory answers.
Another issue is the fact that the two film-makers appear in the final product. Whereas Michael Moore or more recently Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) come across as affable and well-educated commentators, Klusak and Remunda don't appear to have much of a clue as to exactly what they are trying to do. They are hardly exciting screen presences, and it soon becomes clear that the monster they have created has devoured them intellectually.
The film is not without its interesting moments, notably on opening day when hordes of excited Czechs turn up to the field in anticipation of bargains galore. They seem as flummoxed as the directors themselves when all they discover is a façade, and the rather simplistic message of the film appears to be that advertising works.
Anyone looking for a more erudite and well thought-out look at globalization and market forces should watch Dan Ollman's entertaining 2003 documentary The Yes Men, which delivers its message in a far more thought-provoking manner. As for Klusak and Remunda, while their film is a decent student effort, for their next project they must do better.
Paul Hurley
