The ambitious young Czech Jan Dite recalls Charlie Chaplin, but Czech director Jiri Menzel's two-hour comedy, "I Served the King of England" banks so much on a Jean-Pierre Jeunet-style mix of wit, tragedy and playfulness that in the end this 2007 film feels more like Jeunet's "A Very Long Engagement" than Chaplin's "The Great Dictator."
Dite (Ivan Barnev) has one ambition and that is to be rich and so, ever the entrepreneur, he begins by selling hot dogs on train platforms to departing passengers -- already on board -- and upping his profits by dilly-dallying with customers' change until their trains pull out of the station.
Early on he realizes that if he drops small change, even the rich will dive to pick it up and Dite loves watching greed as it consumes those around him. It's a feeling he can relate to.
When he becomes a waiter in a small café, Dite re-encounters one of his former customers who takes him under his wing and the road to his beloved wealth -- via a life as a swanky hotelier -- is paved.
In a range of jobs that he thinks will lead him to his goal, the slapstick-ish Dite is always in the right place at the right time, making the most of the gluttony and pomp (and women) on tap.
When the Nazis invade Czechoslovakia, Dite goes along; he won't let anyone get in the way of his ambition. Then he meets and falls in love with a proud German Sudeten -- and Nazi -- girl named Liza (Julia Jentsch) and they get married.
When they fail to get pregnant, Liza goes off to the front and he takes a job at a hotel (one where he formerly worked) that is now an "institute" full of naked blond German women who are mated with Nazi soldiers to boost the number of the master race.
This story is delivered in the form of flashbacks interspersed with scenes from Dite's later life. Fresh out of nearly 15 years in prison, Dite (the older one is portrayed by Oldrich Kaiser) now lives in a remote corner of the country, near the border.
In this barely inhabited, run-down setting, Dite looks back on his life. He considers the state and the consequences of his dream and the pursuit of it. Rather than spoil anything, we'll stop here.
There's no small amount of tragedy in this slightly over-long film adapted from the novel of the same name by Czech novelist and master of satire Bohumil Hrabal, but the veteran Menzel -- perhaps best known for his 1960s film "Closely Watched Trains" -- injects a healthy dose of humor that keeps things moving.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
