I Served the King of England

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I Served the King of England

R

Released Aug 29, 2008

1h 58m

Comedy

Romance

War

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

79%

Tomatometer

87 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

After serving 15 years in a Czechoslovakian prison, Jan Díte; (Ivan Barnev) looks back on his life as an aspiring millionaire. As a young man, Jan comes to believe that wealth and prestige are the ultimate source of happiness. He works his way up from a lowly train attendant to a series of jobs in prominent hotels with wealthy guests. While in constant pursuit of money, Jan has a string of affairs and a relationship with a fanatical Nazi that lead him towards temptation and social ruin.

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Critics Consensus

With charm and an eye for life's bittersweet moments, Czech New Wave master Jiri Menzel paints a picaresque story with whimsy and intellect.

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Peter Rainer

Christian Science Monitor

The world it depicts is too dangerous and too lovely to classify.

Rated: A

Nov 21, 2008

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Jonathan F. Richards

Film.com

The movie is filled with wonderful moments, set pieces of absurdity, and a richness of humor. But underneath, Menzel and Hraba have a wry and sometimes painful story to tell of the history of their country in the 20th century.

Nov 10, 2008

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

The pseudo-sensuality is annoying and the supposed absurdism and satire are flimsy.

Rated: 2/5

Oct 18, 2008

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David Lamble

Bay Area Reporter

It's a gently amusing, surreal vision that dishes up hard truths in an unsentimental but never brutal fashion.

Jun 2, 2020

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Mattie Lucas

From the Front Row

A captivating, heartwarming, and ultimately life affirming celebration of what makes us human.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jul 6, 2019

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Steve Erickson

Gay City News

... the film dishonors the history it glides through by lacking any sense of real danger.

Mar 8, 2018

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Leaburn O

Mendel is famous for his adaptation of Hrabel’s Closely Watched Trains but this adaptation is superior as far as I’m concerned. This is just outstanding satire and the irreverence never detracts from the plot. It’s like watching a Wes Anderson without the annoying kitsch and pastel colours. It isn’t trying too hard, instead it is perfectly crafted. Watched on DVD.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/09/24

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Audience Member

Nothing compares to the dry slow magic of Closely Observed Trains, or perhaps nothing compared with its effect on first watching amidst a sea of lesser films when it came out. This is a worthy follow-up from the same mind, cast across a long timespan and with colour and a delicious wickedness which was not open to the director when he was younger and in those times. Czech films are not simple, Czech minds are not simple, this is a crowning example of Czech humour, dark and light in the same moments..

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

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Audience Member

Visually sumptuous, splendidly acted, and thoughtful all at once. How sad that "Grand Budapest Hotel" gets so bally-hooed while this far more interesting work remains largely unknown to N American audiences.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

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Audience Member

Not only is this a hilarious adaption of the novel by Bohumil Hrabal, but it has great actors, cinematography and a great musical score. The story takes place during the rise of Hitler, but don't let that turn you off as there are lessons to be learned from this horrible time in modern history.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

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Frances H

Enchanting beautifully filmed movie that seems lighthearted in tone, but really carries a very profound message about life. The acting by Ivan Barnev is superb and the Busby Burkely meal serving scene blew my mind. I loved it!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/13/13

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Audience Member

Great cinematography .. Jaromír Sofr he is my teacher at school .. great cinematographers are horrible teachers !

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

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Jirí Menzel

Director

Ivan Barnev

Jan Díte, young

Oldrich Kaiser

Jan Díte, old

Julia Jentsch

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Martin Huba

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Marián Labuda

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Synopsis

After serving 15 years in a Czechoslovakian prison, Jan Díte; (Ivan Barnev) looks back on his life as an aspiring millionaire. As a young man, Jan comes to believe that wealth and prestige are the ultimate source of happiness. He works his way up from a lowly train attendant to a series of jobs in prominent hotels with wealthy guests. While in constant pursuit of money, Jan has a string of affairs and a relationship with a fanatical Nazi that lead him towards temptation and social ruin.

Director: Jirí Menzel
Producer: Robert Schaffer, Andrea Metcalfe
Screenwriter: Jirí Menzel
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: Barrandov Studio, In Film Praha, TV Nova
Rating: R (Sexual Content|Nudity)
Genre: Comedy, Romance, War
Original Language: Czech
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 29, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 12, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $617.2K
Runtime: 1h 58m

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