I served the King of England jumps from paperback to the big screen

July 31, 2008

After some time away from our screens, the Czech cinema is back with a magnificent and funny movie called “I served the King of England”, with one of the most complimented Czech films Directors, Juri Menzel (Prague, 1938)

The movie tells the personal story of Jan Dilé (character played by the Bulgarian actor Ivan Barnev), a very ambitious young village waiter who dreams with becoming a multi millionaire.

Dité will go through several jobs and brothels until he comes across a young girl from the Sudetes and very proud of her cold Arian blood, on those days when Hitler made this Czech territory his own.

His encounter with this young girl Lisa will mean the step up to fortune with a few very valued stamps left by the Jewish.

But this wealth will be ephemeral and the upcoming Communist regime after the war will take him to jail.

The film starts when Jan Dilé´s character gets out of prison and meditates about his past and what it could have happened if he had acted differently.

“I served the King of England” is a script by Bohumil Hrabal Brno, 1914 - Prague, 1997) novel titled “Served the King of England”.

It is not the first time Menzel adapts Hrabal. He already did it with “Capricious Summer” and “Closely observed Trains, which made him win an Oscar to the best foreign movie in 1966.

With a modest budget of a little more than two million Euros, this film is one of the most valuable secrets in the cinemas this Summer.

Written by jesus · Filed Under Lifestyle