AltWeeklies Wire
Jiri Menzel is Still Depicting How History Swallows Little Livesnew
Using accelerated motion, period music, and silent sequences in black-and-white to suggest history as farce, Menzel makes a mocking spectacle of Czechoslovakia in the 20th century.
San Antonio Current |
Steven G. Kellman |
10-22-2008 |
Reviews
'I Served the King of England' and 'The Duchess' Look Back to European Historynew
What we have is a mildly amusing comedy in which every female under 30 can be relied upon to disrobe.
'I Served the King of England' and 'The Grocer's Son': Churl Interruptednew
The selfish leads in two films make for familiar and unsatisfying redemption tales.
Washington City Paper |
Tricia Olszewski |
09-11-2008 |
Reviews
Life Goes On 'I Served the King of England'new
In many ways, Menzel's latest serves as a bookend to that early masterpiece, Closely Watched Trains, beginning with another wide-eyed youth on another train platform, his personal desires consuming his entire attention as the Nazis march in just offscreen.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Shaun Brady |
09-09-2008 |
Reviews
Czech Jiri Menzel Shows His Mastery in 'I Served the King of England'new
Like Closely Watched Trains, England was adapted from author Bohumil Hrabal, and likewise concerns the wacky and horrifying misadventures of a well-meaning innocent living (eventually) under occupation.
Philadelphia Weekly |
Matt Prigge |
09-08-2008 |
Reviews
Old Spirits--New Decade: Czech New Wave Crests Again
Writer Jiri Menzel's ambitious filmic adaptation of Bohumil Hrabal's picaresque novel about a diminutive Czech waiter with dreams of becoming a millionaire and of owning his own extravagant hotel, is a rich black comedy steeped in wartime experience and sexual exploration in WWII Czechoslovakia.
