Summary
This absurdist comedy is the sole feature film that director Jan Moravec has to his credit. Also written by Moravec, and co-directed with his experienced colleague Zdeněk Podskalský in 1967, it tells the story of the unfortunate character Benda. Whilst drunk one night, Benda, an official working in liquidating unwanted notes of currency, lets a certain artist tattoo a picture on his back. When the artist dies it turns out that Benda has become the property of a gallery because experts have declared the “work” to be the artist’s best painting. Benda falls ever lower on the social ladder, and finally has to steal to feed his family. The gallery, meanwhile, is not interested in his life, it is only concerned for the painting he bears... This anecdotal story aspires to a parable about a society that puts material objects before human lives. It is an unfairly forgotten film in which the roles of the Benda family spouses were taken by Jozef Kroner and Jaroslava Tichá.
Read more
