Fuerzabruta literally means “brute force” in Spanish. The production begins with actor Freddie Bosche walking on a treadmill. As things pass him, he gradually increases his pace. He keeps getting shot, but continues. Somehow, he finds a way out of the situation and meets other people. They then proceed to have a party filled with dancing. Although I did not like Fuerzabnruta, it did give me one message. People do not always need to use brute force; violence is not always necessary. We must learn how to abandon force in order to embrace peace.
Fuerzabruta
This life revolves around chaos; and uses Fuerzabruta
Wars and guns just abuse Fuerzabruta
The chase, the hunt, is misguided
This practice is profuse Fuerzabruta
The act of running, is taken for granted
We all too often misuse Fuerzabruta
The act of dance, its power
Is the best way to reduce Fuerzabruta
Women can be the only, the last, token of peace
They choose to refuse Fuerzabruta
Water drains, our foundations, the soul
We must diffuse Fuerzabruta
The act of survival depends
On the power to disuse Fuerzabruta
Carissa Dech
I Served the King of England
Right after our IDC class last Wednesday, Mariya and I hightailed it over to the Quad Cinema theater because she was worried that there would be a really long line for the independent film we were going to see, entitled I Served the King of England.
There was no line. In fact, there was only a handful other patrons in Auditorium 2 where the film was set to play. I wasn’t so much disappointed as I was disheartened. This was my first Indie film and, at this point, I was certain that we picked a crappy one to watch. Either way, we laughed a lot at our rushing and how “packed” the place was. I said to Mariya, “Watch it not even be in English.” The movie started, and sure enough, subtitles appear under Czech speaking actors.
Within minutes, however, we were pretty much captivated by the film; we did little apart from nudging one another to make a whispered comment about what we just saw. The film was told by flashback. It was the story of a man called Jan Dite, who is short in stature but always big on dreams, with the ambition to make millions. Later on in the movie, he hopes to marry a pure-blooded Aryan woman and foolishly go against his Czechoslovakian heritage, as well.
The lead actors, Ivan Barnev (young Jan) and Oldrich Kaiser (old Jan), are amazing. I most liked Barnev’s representation of the young Jan, because he really exemplifies pure ambition. It is funny to see him climb up the ladder from pub waiter to brothel waiter to a fancy restaurant waiter. He would always leave a job when it became evident that the time was right. In one scene, a German officer tips Jan – who was the nearest waiter to him – literally thousands of bills, just because. One big step closer to becoming a millionaire, Jan simply drops the tea cup he was holding, and walks out without a word. All the while, young Jan proves himself to be quite the ladies man as well. In juxtaposition, the old Jan, broke and fresh out of jail, looks back with both a sense of fulfillment and wonder, if things had been different.
I was really and truly impressed with the movie. It jumped around between being very humorous, raunchy, downright disgusting, a bit saddening, and even deeply profound. I would definitely recommend I Served the King of England to a friend. Speaking as one Yan to another Jan, I would gladly go see this film again!
Creative View: I Served the King of England
Oh No, Where Have We Gone?
The Theater Is Empty,
The Day, She Is Undone!
Oh No, English They Do Not Speak!
The Film Is Doomed For Failure,
And My Cultural Passport Doomed Weak.
But Wait, The Little Man Is Funny,
And His Ambition, Pure And Sound.
Perhaps The Film Is Yet Worth My Money?
A Dollar Here, A Dollar There,
Young Jan Is On His Way; I Do Not Doubt,
Soon He Will Be A Millionaire!
It Is Over, Little Jan No More.
But That Is Quite All Right,
Because This Movie I Do Adore!
