Making its market debut on Wednesday is Petr Zelenka's surreal black comedy, Knoflikari (Buttoners), winner of a Tiger award at the Rotterdam International Film Festival earlier this month. Knoflikari is already an enormous cult hit in the Czech Republic. "Some people have been to see it six or seven times," Zelenka says. He knew the film had made an impression when he overheard people on the street quoting snatches of the dialogue.
Critics in Rotterdam made some lofty claims on behalf of Knoflikari. Some even went as far as to compare it to "late Buñuel". Zelenka himself attributes the film's success to its combination of humour and tragedy. For many Czechs, he believes, Knoflikari provided a welcome antidote to the sentimentality of Jan Sverak's Oscar-winner, Kolya. The film was financed by Czech Television, currently the most dynamic force in Czech Film culture. GM
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