1969 | Czechoslovakia | Fiction

Zert (The Joke)

  • Czech English 81 mins
  • Director | Jaromil Jireš
  • Writer | Milan Kundera, Jaromil Jireš
  • Producer | Milos Stejskal

STATUS: Released

This film is currently not available.   

Jaromil Jireš’s brilliant adaptation of Milan Kundera’s novel tells the fragmentary tale of a man expelled from the Communist Party because of a political joke. After “rehabilitation” in the mines and a stint in prison, he hatches a revenge plot against the former friend who betrayed him. Made near the end of the Czech New Wave, The Joke is acknowledged as one of its greatest works.

Revenge Memory Oppression Irony Betrayal
Film Organizations
The Criterion Collection
DISTRIBUTION