Everyone who has lived in a major city or urban area has likely at some point in their life imagined the joys that would come from leaving the hustle and bustle of whatever metropolis that defines their daily routine, venturing into the countryside and starting a far simpler life. It is a concept that is very appealing in theory, but is not always the reality. Cinema has had quite an interesting history with the subject of rustic life, with some showing the pleasures of rural living, others focusing on the hardships and challenges that emerge from such an existence – and it seems likely that it is essentially a blend of both, which is not always shown particularly well on screen, since these stories tend to have agendas that align with a particular perspective. One filmmaker who aimed to show every side of both rural and urban living is Jiří Menzel, the incredible Czech writer and director who defined his national cinema and became something of a stalwart of the Eastern European arthouse. We’ve discussed some of his work in the past, particularly Closely Watched Trains (one of the greatest films ever made), but like many of his peers, the most interesting works are those that exist on the margins of their careers, or are at least not as well-regarded or widely-discussed as the canonical masterpieces. We find this is the case in My Sweet Little Village (Czech: Vesničko má středisková), in which the director tells a charming story about a mentally disabled young man in a small Czech village who finds himself at odds with some of his fellow residents, many of which grow tired of his simple-minded nature and inability to function as well as they would desire, leading to some harsh decisions that ultimately take our protagonist out of the town and into the intimidating city, where he finds survival is far more difficult than he imagined. Not a particularly serious film, but one that is nonetheless compelling in a way that can be quite surprising, we find that there is a lot of merit in a film like My Sweet Little Village, which is far more captivating than we initially imagined.

Art adores underdogs, which is entirely understandable considering nearly every creative person uses their chosen medium as a way of self-expression, and every writer is going to place a piece of themselves in whatever story they choose to tell. The premise of My Sweet Little Village seems like one that is a dime a dozen, especially since it seems entirely straightforward and not at all original. However, this sense of simplicity is slightly misleading, and anyone who has seen films by Menzel or his peers in the Czech New Wave would know that there is always more than meets the eye when it comes to a lot of these productions. This film is primarily about an outsider trying to find a way to fit into society, which he soon realizes is a fool’s errand, since he is not mentally or physically equipped to meet the impossibly high standards set by his colleagues and family, who expect him to match them on their level, rather than adapting their own style of work, as well as their perception of what his responsibilities should be, which is what a more logical and compassionate person may realize is the ideal solution. Formed as a character study that follows the character of Otik as he explores the world and comes to understand some of its more peculiar aspects, the film is a profoundly moving examination of life as seen through the eyes of someone trying their best to make sense of a world that they know they are never likely to understand, not due to his own disability, but rather that very few of us ever manage to comprehend the true scope of life, which is why so many of us face existential crises at some point. There is a poetry that guides this film, and Menzel shows such incredible enthusiasm for this character, who is brought to life by János Bán, whose performance is very simple but strikes such an extraordinary chord, becoming one of the most heartwrenchingly honest and vulnerable portrayals of loneliness committed to film during this era, one of the many surprises lurking within this film.

Despite its quite heavy subject matter that touches on themes such as disability, loneliness and poverty, My Sweet Little Village is a surprisingly lovely film that doesn’t focus too much on the more dramatic side of the material, only using it as the foundation of the narrative. This film is as much about exploring the trials and tribulations of Otik as it is about telling the story of this village, which is populated with a never-ending stream of eccentrics and quirky characters, each one having a unique set of characteristics that Menzel is very eager to explore. In between scenes featuring the protagonist, we find ourselves presented with a few small vignettes that are marginally related to the main storyline, but are mostly quite separate and exist solely to show different elements of this community and how they all pass the time in this closely-knit corner of the countryside. This is where a lot of the humour comes from, since every character in this film is extremely charming and unique, and goes about their daily routine with a sense of purpose, which has a solid foundation on which the story is constructed. There are overtures of swooning romance intercut with moments of pure slapstick comedy, and they are all tenderly placed together to create a vibrant and lively portrait of this village and its occupants, who are just as interesting as the protagonist and those who take part in the central narrative, giving My Sweet Little Village an even more endearing and captivating quality that feels so extremely genuine and earnest, but never in a way that feels forced. Menzel has a good sense of what he wanted to achieve with this narrative, and he consistently proves to be more than capable of handling the more challenging material and presenting it as an upbeat and often quite charming comedy.

This does bring up the important point of how a film like My Sweet Little Village handles its emotional inventory. Based on a cursory glance, it seems like this film could have quite easily been either overly sentimental to the point of being unbearable, or flippant and heartless in how it handles some of the more tricky commentary. This is after all a film about a young man who has to confront the harsh nature of reality and come to terms with life as someone with a mental disability, a subject that was previously quite popular but has appropriately been phased out of a lot of contemporary filmmaking based on the fact that there were always criticisms about the trivializing and tokenizing of disability as a way to draw out sympathy. It is very clear that Menzel has nothing but the best intentions, and he also follows through in ensuring that there is never once a moment in which it feels like it is exploiting the main character for either dramatic effect or as the punchline to any of the jokes. My Sweet Little Village is a film with a deep respect for its characters, and it is very clear from the start that Otik may be the central character, but his disability is not defining of his skills, or that his development as a protagonist will in any way be based around hammering in the theme of acceptance or tolerance without a lot of thought being put into the production. The film blends humour and pathos beautifully, finding the comedy in some deeply dramatic scenarios, and conversely ensuring that there is a sense of melancholy where it is most valuable. It is a genuinely compassionate film that has a strong sense of what it wants to achieve, and we find that there are very few moments where the humour is mean-spirited or directed at the main character in an attempt to draw out laughter. It’s an admirable effort that achieves exactly the intended result, and it’s difficult not to credit this film for being so incredibly charming.

Hilarious and heartfelt in equal measure, and driven by a sense of genuine compassion, My Sweet Little Village is a wonderful little film that seems small on the surface but has an immense heart and a tremendous sense of humour that pushes the entire story along beautifully. There are several reasons to adore this film – it presents a layered depiction of everyday life in a small village, and while it undeniably demonstrates a more bucolic way of thinking, it is not against showing the slightly more challenging side of such a life. It’s not always the most realistic, since it does tend to make a few large leaps of logic, but this is all part of the enchanting nature of the film, which is formed along the lines of magical realism. Menzel was an immense talent, and his importance within Eastern European and Czech cinema has never been in doubt – but yet its this simple, heartfelt examination of the human condition that overtakes his more pointed social commentary, and while it may not be as satirical as his earlier work, nor as complex, there is a sense of brilliance in what he is doing here, a feeling of honesty and integrity that we don’t often find being both straightforward and daring. Driven by hilarious characters who find themselves in bizarre scenarios (and anchored by a terrific cast that commit entirely to playing these roles), and constructed by a genuine sense of humanity, My Sweet Little Village is an absolute triumph, and a film that is as intellectually stimulating as it is emotionally warm, the two qualities working in tandem to create a truly unique experience, and proves to be a wonderful gem of a film.