Year of the Devil

Another eccentric comedy from the director of Buttoners. A Czech Spinal Tap, if you will, this mockumentary follows radical folk superstar Jaromir Nohavica (playing himself?) from his battle with alcoholism to an electric career reinvention inspired by his ex-partner, an elective mute. It takes a little while to find itself, but go with it: there are some delicious deadpan gags (the violinist employed to provide live elevator music in a Prague hotel, for instance), and it's very droll about the different substrata in pop cultures. Against the odds, it sort of adds up.