The exuberant Maggie McKay introduced Příliš mladá nocs (A Night Too Young) the other night at the LA Film Festival. (The 62-minute student feature, which received distribution in the European art-house circuit, was preceded by the funny Douglas Hart short Long Distance Information starring Peter Mullan.) Olmo Omerzu directed one of the few 16mm films of this year’s event, which also happened to be the sole Czech component of the festival. Nocs opens with the haunting still image of a house about to meet its demise before the camera travels via train with three of its main characters. Not much is known about the woman and two men, other than they have a complicated relationship. The ambiguousness of their relations continues as they stumble upon a couple of pre-teen boys (Jan Vasi, Vojtech Machuta) playing in the snow on New Year’s Eve in a small Czech town and the teacher invites them, as she does a host of other males, into her apartment where the majority of the film takes place. “Some guy is always interested,” David (Martin Pechlát, who bears small resemblance to Stellan Skarsgård) counsels Štěpán (Jirí Cerný), who acts like a young man visiting a prostitute to lose his virginity. Katerina (Natálie Rehorová) lives anonymously in a social housing block, with her long, straight brunette hair, wild eyes, and full mouth, she has been the object of fantasy for many, most especially the two young boys; men just gravitate to her, sometimes in two’s.
Oftentimes, there is a nonsensical flavor to the story that provides a charming laugh here and there. The premise is awkward and aimless, but there is a quiet grey beauty in the proceedings as the boys negotiate through their adolescence. The grainy timelessness of the tone is Not's main appeal, as the camera voyeuristically shares and compares the lives of the younger and older set. There’s a controversial image towards the end that won’t sit well with some audiences. Also stars Milan Mikulcík (who played Ludek in Kawasakiho ruze). After the screening, Omerzu and Jiri Konecny took questions from McKay and the audience.
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| Natálie Rehorová, Jirí Cerný, Milan Mikulcík |
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| Jan Vasi, Vojtech Machuta |
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