I recently saw this at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. With several films yet for me to see at this years festival among those I have seen so far this will be one of my festival favorites. This is set in the late 1990's in the Czech Republic and is the story of an eccentric and mildly retarded man named Vaclav (Ivan Trojan) with attention disorder and several other emotional problems who is nicknamed "Inajiffy" by the villagers because it is is favorite saying. He lives with his widowed mother (Emilia Vasaryova) and is the constant cause of trouble for her and his brother Frantisek (Jan Budar). His brother wants him committed to an institution as does many of the villagers. One villager who is kind to Vaclav and is Lida (Sona Norisova) who Vaclav has a crush on. This is a complex story with a lot going on and a lot to think about with a great cast and screenplay.Wrtiter/director Jiri Vejdelek has done a superb job here and was at my screening for an audience Q&A along with actor Jan Budar who doubled as a translator for Vejdelek who doesn't speak English. Beautifully photographed by Jakob Simunek and based on a true story covering the Czech political atmosphere of the late 1970's and late 1990's. Trojan is fabulous as Vaclav in this comedy-drama and has the facial and body language expressions that remind me of Chico or Harpo Marx. A well-crafted film that expertly weaves drama with comedic moments. I would give this a 9.0 and recommend it.
