My Sweet Little Village

In the village in question, a cooperatively-run community, live Pavek - who is short and fat - and his workmate Otik, who is long and thin. Because Otik's teeth outnumber his IQ, he is more hindrance than help, so when he directs the long-suffering Pavek's truck into a gatepost, their fraught friendship is threatened. As if this weren't catastrophic enough, a party bureaucrat sets his heart on Otik's cottage, and arranges for him to be rehoused in a high-rise honeycomb in Prague. Menzel directs a good-natured comedy in which pleasure is derived from such innocent pursuits as consuming beer and bangers in the sun, riding through the unremarkable countryside, and watching the desperate home-produced TV. The optimism, if indulgent, is infectious, and the Laurel and Hardski relationship is ultimately moving.