eric b
"Birds, Orphans and Fools" is an unusual Czech fantasy-of-sorts from 1969, directed by the same man responsible for "The Deserter and the Nomads." "Birds" starts off rather messy and chaotic, and takes awhile to find a story. I was relieved, because the first half is a bit aimless. Three college-age naifs ("orphans and fools") cavort like children around post-war ruins in an environment that's pure anarchy. Few other characters even come into play, beyond tame birds flitting everywhere, one strange old man and a mysterious pack of children dressed like clowns (they may exist outside the story's fiction). The central trio includes a cute, short-haired girl and two rather shabby dudes, and much of the action involves the two jockeying to win her sexual favors. Except it's not much of a struggle, because she's a free spirit (often casually topless) who's open to everything and everyone. The action eventually takes a dark turn, which is foreshadowed from the beginning with some flip but portentous narration. The film turns better and better as it proceeds, though you may need to be Czech for its symbolism and political undercurrents to fully resonate. Over in about 81 minutes. Warning: contains some mild animal cruelty.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
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Audience Member
-<b>The Birds</b>: The bearers of divine signals. The carriers of dead souls. The ones flying above all earthly turmoil!
-<b>The Orphans</b>: The ones left alone because of an unsurmountable aftermath, whose parents were killed by the Fools, while aimlessly trying to construct an incoherent life meaning!
-<b>The Fools</b>: The assassins of the parents of The Orphans. The Fools are... well, EVERYBODY!
To those interested in the improvisatory, experimental and kaleidoscopic free-flowing spirit of the masterful <i>Daisies</i> (1966), Juraj Jakubisko assembles a chaotic opera of aftermath political turmoil and anarchich disorder, like taking Godard's hyperactively Socialist characters to an exaggerated surreal extreme, adding Makavejev's nationalist criticisms, Pasolini-esque approaches to sexuality, and why the hell not, even a tragic Shakesperian undertone!! The result is an assaulting amalgamation of imagery and streams of consciousness, with an invasive wide-lens camera management, nightmarish settings, a claustrophobic representation of the psychology, with the feasts, the "foolishness", the ridicule, the animals, the ruins, the war aftermath and the dissorganized chaos of Kusturica's <i>Underground</i> (1995). In a shocking amount of levels, however, this Czech New Wave delivery is Kusturica's predecessor, while borrowing inspiration from some other very challenging celluloid sources to establish its ideas.
For the sake of everybody reading this, I'll stop this review here, only stating that this entered very easily into my 250 favorite films of all time.
99/100
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/22/23
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Audience Member
Post-war rubble. Three youthful spirits trying to be like birds, to fly away, but instead being grounded and confined to metaphorical and literal cages. One sets her sights lofty, and the other considers, regarding her child: "Here he can fall and kill himself." During the tragedy of the finale we see rockets falling from the sky and crashing into the ground. All of the characters eventually are stripped of their wings, and fall. Often funny, considerably emotional, and well done. Excellent usage of music as well.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/08/23
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A whimsical, strange, and bizarre film that has been sitting in my brain ever since i saw it. I honestly didn't like it as much immediately after viewing as I do now. Something magical about the imagery and characters and settings I guess. So the politics was a bit beyond me and I didn't fully grasp all of the dialogue. Magic is magic...and the ending of this thing is brilliant. I need to give it another watch...but at the moment, the more I think about it the more I love it.
Looking forward to more Jakubisko.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/14/23
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Audience Member
I can't say I enjoyed this very much even though I did think it was a genuine curiosity. Some of it is very beautiful and surreal, but especially compared to other films made during the Czech New Wave (this film is Slovakian) it comes off as mainly dated. I much prefer Daises as an example of how to aggressively mix narrative disruptions with radical politics.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/26/23
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Audience Member
The kind of movie Jakubisko is famous for. Craziness as a happiness, poverty as a fortune, life as a game. Wouldn't we be more happy, if it wasn't just a movie?
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/27/23
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