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DIRECTED BY: Petr Zelenka

FEATURING: Pavel Zajicek, Jan Haubert, Seisuke Tsukahara

PLOT: A variety of tales unfold simultaneously during a single night as a radio show attempts a review of the twentieth century.

COMMENTS: Czechoslovakian, and later Czech, cinema has a lot to offer, especially for those interested in the weird. Many are familiar with the legacy of the Czech New Wave (Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, Daisies) or its tradition of stop-motion animation (The Cybernetic Grandma, The Pied Piper). There are a plethora of lesser-known auteurs and visionaries lurking in the shadows, however, awaiting rediscovery. One of them is Petr Zelenka, whose comedies tackle the human condition through an absurdist lens (the distributor’s statement says he “formally combines an American independent movie poetic with Bunuelesque absurdity.”). Buttoners is a perfect example of his style.

Buttoners takes place mostly in the course of one long night and is divided into a series of chapters, each of focusing on different characters and their quirks. It gradually adds layers of meaning by revealing new points of view and multiple intersections between the characters, hidden in the details. In “The Rituals of Civilization,” a neurotic psychiatrist tries to find comfort in the small routines of personal care and hygiene. “The Last Decent Generation” shows how two elderly couples discover each other’s strange yet harmless fetishes.  And this is just a sample of the stories included here, building into a complex narrative of humanity at its weirdest and most original.

This is not superficial comedy where the characters eccentricities make them the butt of the joke. “The Rituals of Civilization” is, in fact, a meditation on our relationship with death and chaos. “The Last Decent Generation” tackles human quirks with sympathy, recalling Jan Svankmajer‘s far more bizarre Conspirators of Pleasure (1996). The bombing of Hiroshima is referenced throughout the movie, with a metaphysical twist towards the end, forming a common ground for all these disparate stories. This major event, with all its consequences, couldn’t be absent from a movie that attempts, among other things, to review the twentieth century.

All in all, Buttoners maintains a playful tone while reveling in clever twists. We can trace some formal similarities with the more recent Hungarian title Treasure City (2020), like the constant darkness and slightly surrealistic final segment. This Czech movie is way more light-hearted and comedic in style, however, which makes it the perfect recommendation for anyone looking for a sophisticated comedy unafraid to tackle serious subject matter.

WHAT THE CRITICS SAY:

“A strong return to the eccentric soul of [Czech cinema’s]1960s heyday… quirky, hugely enjoyable…”–Eddie Cokrell, Nitrate Online (festival screening) 

Knoflikari [Buttoners]

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