Self-seriousness is a common trait in the world of European cinema, but the opening night of the 57thKarlovy Vary International Film Festival was a wholly playful affair, starting with the most unexpected sight of a troupe of acrobatic ice-skating showgirls spinning and whirling through fake snow and dry ice.
MC Marek Eben followed in a similarly feelgood vein, with a dryly witty monologue that touched on current affairs in the Czech Republic and the wider world without getting too heavily into the politics.
A “surprise” appearance by festival stalwart Jiří Bartoška, whose attendance was initially in doubt, occasioned the first standing ovation of the night.
One of the bigger stars of this year’s festival was there in spirit, if not in physical form: it is a tradition that a guest to KV pays back the favor next year with an appearance in one of the festival’s famously irreverent trailers, joining Casey Affleck, Helen Mirren, Jude Law, John Malkovich and many more in an elite club.
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