4.4 Happy End (1967) "Lazy Rudolph"

Time Babble

Episode latest the to welcome and hello.

This week we’re babbling about the extraordinary Happy End (1967), a deliriously wonderful film, directed by Oldřich Lipský. It’s a delight from end to beginning, as we explore one man's journey from death/birth to birth/death.

Mostly dismissed as a throwaway piece of lightweight fluff on release, the film now stands shoulder to shoulder with its more arty brothers and sisters as an equally incredible example of the breadth of films that Czech cinema was producing at that time.

While not strictly a time travel film as such, Happy End more than generally messes about with the concept of time, as we follow hapless psychopath Mensik, from from the guillotine to the crib. Murdered brides are reanimated, food is stolen from a hippo's mouth, there’s more geese that we could count, and an uncomfortable amount of chewing.

It’s also the ultimate example of the unreliable narrator, as what we see, what Mensik actually does, and how he describes it, are quite often at polar opposites. Delightfully inventive and funny, it’s also a surprisingly uncomfortable watch, very much exploring the darker side of dark comedy…

Episode Four of Time Babble Series Four is waiting for you now on Podbean, Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts and other good podcast services.

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