Men in Rut

Colour, 35 mm
Czech Republic, 2009, 109 min
Section: Variety Critics’ Choice

Synopsis

In the tradition of Jiri Menzel’s My Sweet Little Village, but utterly contemporary in its satire, sly rural comedy Men in Rut draws its humor from the clash of small and big worlds as politicians in a remote burg – so remote, in fact, that the road ends there – try to realize their dream of a new highway connecting them to Europe. The South Moravian hamlet of Mourinov may not be on the map of Central Europe, but it’s home to Franta, a national champion at enticing stags in rut. Longtime mayor Hanacek and local bigwig Jarda devise a European competition in this odd discipline in order to lure the jovial prime minister to the opening ceremony and lobby him with their plans. Yet despite the village elders’ elaborate scheming, people and circumstances stubbornly refuse to fall in line with their conception of the festivities.