Directed by Jaromil Jireš • 1969 • Czechoslovakia
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Adapted from the breakout novel by the great Milan Kundera, The Joke is one of Czech cinema’s most piercing political statements. During the Stalinist era, happy-go-lucky student Ludvík (Josef Somr) sends his girlfriend a postcard featuring an idle satirical remark, only to see his life fall apart as a result: expelled from university and the Communist Party, imprisoned and forced into military service. Two decades later, Ludvík returns to his hometown and hatches a desperate plan to get revenge on old friend Pavel (Luděk Munzar), whom he blames for his predicament. Deploying flashbacks and asynchronous sound to convey his protagonist’s alienation, Jaromil Jireš captures the bleakly satirical intent of Kundera’s work. Released shortly after Soviet tanks rolled into Prague, The Joke was promptly banned and not screened again for nearly 20 years.

THE JOKE • ŽERT
Directed by Jaromil Jireš
Written by Jaromil Jireš and Milan Kundera
From the novel by Milan Kundera
Cinematography by Jan Čuřík
Music by Zdeněk Pololáník
Starring: Josef Somr, Jana Dítětová, Luděk Munzar

In Czech with English subtitles