Director Jiri Menzel is best known for Closely Watched Trains, winner of the Best Foreign Film Academy Award for 1966, and standard-bearer of the Czech New Wave. While times became harder following the end of the “Prague Spring” and the re-establishment of Soviet control, Menzel has continued to make films. His latest is I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále), a darkly ironic comedy/tragedy about Jan Dite, a waiter rising through the ranks of society in the WWII era. Unlike the naïve, nebbishy hero of Closely Watched Trains, who eventually joins the resistance against the Germans, Dite throughout remains oblivious to the realities of the war and pays attention only to his own quest for wealth and women. Dite is not precisely a bad man, but he is not a good man either.

While Dite is an ambiguous fellow, I Served the King of England is an undeniable achievement for Menzel, demonstrating the assurance of an older filmmaker and the experimentation and flash of a younger man. On Wednesday, November 14, 2007, Menzel gave a Q&A on, at the BAM Cinematek in Brooklyn, NY, following a screening of I Served the King of England. Following are selected excerpts from his comments (this is not an exact transcript):

On the Czech reputation for irony in film and the Czech national character

It’s really not that funny. The Hungarians and Poles fought and bled for what they believed in. We always handled things in a different way, by making fun of everything. The Hungarians won their “duality” status – equal status with the Austrians under the Reich. We thought we would win equal rights by being nice to the Germans. The Poles fought for their existence, we always came to an agreement. It is funny, but it takes away from our sense of self worth.

I have not changed my opinion about the Czech character and the Czech character has not changed. I think this is all reflected in Czech history. The majority of the people were subjects and plebeians. There were no models in the nobility. The Czech people lived in resentment and had no sense of responsibility for what was going on. There was always someone higher up. There was no sense of responsibility as citizens, as opposed to the English or the Finns. I do not think the Czechs are worse than other nations, but I wish we would recognize what we are.

I made this film 40 years later than [Closely Watched Trains]. In that film, nonchalant heroism seemed appropriate. After 40 years of living and learning about our history, now I do not think it is so appropriate. Closely Watched Trains was about one way in which the Czechs fought the Germans. While some did fight, the majority of the population hunkered down and found a way to survive. Unlike the Poles, we submitted without a fight. While there were some active fighting Czechs in the domestic resistance and the front abroad, a majority of the population was working for the German arms industry. That was the price for not going to war.

On Bohumil Hrabal, the author of Closely Watched Trains and I Served the King of England

He was like an older brother to me. We collaborated on Closely Watched Trains also. I did not see him often – only when we were working. When he was allowed to publish and I was allowed to make films. He liked to eat and drink a lot. I used to visit him in his cottage, and sometime we would get together and drink a lot. We had some intense experiences together involving drinking. Otherwise we were very different. He was hard working and smoked a lot; I am lazy and don’t smoke. He loved beer and the woods; I didn’t love either [as an audience member pointed out, it is hard to believe Menzel is not a beer drinker given the way it is fetishized in I Served the King of England]. He was a very modest guy, despite being a world-famous writer.

Hrabal always praised me after I made films based on his books. I felt good about it until I heard him praise a colleague’s film I had heard him say some not-very-nice things about.

On variations between the novel and the film

I did not find [the scene in which Dite tries and fails to commit suicide] to be that central. The character was hysterical when he wanted to hang himself. Faced with the dilemma of how much of the book to use, I had to look at each section of the book and make sure that its content did not outweigh the tone of the film. The movie is mostly about how Ditie goes through everything very smoothly, and the suicide scene would have detracted from that. I had to be sure that no individual scene strayed too far from the overall film.

On the actors and actresses in I Served the King of England

I had great luck with these actors. I knew it would be preferable to have the main female role played by a German. I went to German theaters looking for an actress. One source knew someone. She had appeared in a lot of films and was already a star. I said, “Anything but a star. I know how they behave.” I was persuaded to meet her [Julia Jentsch, here playing the opposite of her starring role in Sophie Scholl] and fortunately she was not a star in the sense I am used to. She was lovely, and everyone working on the film fell in love with her. She had trouble with the Czech language, of course, but she was otherwise perfect.

For the lead male role, I needed someone with lots of charisma, able to portray a character from his teen years to his forties and, of course, not too tall. It could not be Danny DeVito though. I was working in Sofia, and had seen this actor [Ivan Barnev] in three different performances. I brought him back to Prague and we had great luck with him. Most of the other actors were my friends and people I had worked with before. The actresses came from agencies.

On I Served the King of England’s reception in the Czech Republic

It was very well received. 850,000 people saw it in the first three months. There is also the factor of the author, Hrabal, who is extremely popular. Audiences were generally very happy, except the critics [laughs]. The film has been picked up by Sony, and is in the pool for a Best Foreign Film Academy Award nomination.

On fellow Czech directors Milos Forman (The Firemen’s Ball; Loves of a Blonde) and Ivan Passer (Intimate Lighting)

We have something in common. Milos is more merciless and sarcastic than I. Passer’s Intimate Lighting is an analysis of the character of the Czech petit bourgeois. Passer is more forgiving, but The Firemen’s Ball is a cruel indictment of the Czech character. You laugh yourself silly and then say, “What kind of people are they?” The Firemen’s Ball is a beautiful film, like a story by Gogol. It is both bitter and powerful. Everyone is guilty of thievery, but only blame the person who admits it.

On the new generation of filmmakers

I think that new filmmakers are in a worse position. We had obvious goals and certain limits we had to overcome, but no trouble with money. Now, a filmmaker needs to look for resources first. I do not envy young people, but I admire what they have done.

On his next project

Vacation. I am not that industrious. I work when offered a good project, but that does not always happen.

Additional Links
::: Previous CSB article on the release of I Served the King of England
::: CSB reviews of other Czech films
::: BAM Cinematek

(photos courtesy of the Czech Center, BAM Cinematek, and the director’s archives)