Directed by Karel Steklý • 1956 • Czechoslovakia

Of the many screen adaptations of Jaroslav Hašek’s beloved novel, this delightful farce is the most enduringly popular. Written and directed by the redoutable Karel Steklý and with Rudolf Hrušínský excelling in the titular role, The Good Soldier Svejk is a true Czech classic. Following the events of the first volume of Hašek’s anti-war satire, this film sees the hapless dog dealer Svejk caught up in the chaos of the early days of the First World War. Arrested for sedition but released because he is too imbecilic to interrogate, Svejk’s subsequent attempts to enlist in the Austro-Hungarian army (despite a debilitating injury) see him careen from one unlikely set-up to the next alongside a cast of supporting characters only marginally less deranged than he is. Steklý and Hrušínský turn the Forrest Gump-esque witless protagonist of Hašek’s novels into a veritable folk hero while never losing sight of the brutal truths underlying the source material’s take on the continent at war.

THE GOOD SOLDIER SVEJK • DOBRÝ VOJÁK ŠVEJK
Directed by Karel Steklý
From the novel by Jaroslav Hašek
Cinematography by Rudolf Stahl
Music by Jan Seidel
Starring: Rudolf Hrušínský, František Filipovský, Svatopluk Beneš

In Czech with English subtitles