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7.3/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 7.3/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Anton Spelec, ostrostrelec remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you like old-school slapstick and have a soft spot for 1930s European comedy, definitely watch this. Vlasta Burian is a force of nature here—he’s basically a human hurricane in a mustache.
However, if you can’t handle movies that rely on rapid-fire dialogue and theatrical, stagey acting, this is going to feel like a headache. It’s definitely not for the modern viewer who needs a fast-paced thriller.
The whole movie really just exists to showcase Burian. He’s playing Anton, a guy who takes his sharpshooting way too seriously. Watching him try to navigate the bureaucracy of a small town while being his own worst enemy is genuinely funny.
There’s a moment in the pub where he just loses it over a missing medal, and the way he goes from pride to pure, unadulterated rage is something else. It feels like he’s improvising half the physical comedy on the spot. Pure gold.
The middle act gets weird. The idea that he sends his employee to jail instead of himself, and then that guy sends a vagabond, is classic farce territory. The fact that the vagabond dies? It’s dark, but the movie keeps it so light that it’s hard to stay worried.
The whole funeral sequence is where the movie goes full chaotic. The town planning a funeral for a guy who is very much alive and hiding in his own house? It’s the kind of screwball setup that works because the cast treats it with such ridiculous gravity.
It reminds me a bit of the frantic energy in Ko-Ko's Tattoo, where you're just along for the ride and hoping the main character doesn't totally destroy everything in sight. This isn't high art, but it's a solid, funny watch if you're in the mood for something classic and a little bit unhinged. 🍺