The Barnabas Kos Case

Barnabás Kos, a meek and modest triangle-player in a state orchestra finds himself unfathomably promoted to musical director. Now drunk with power, the once timid Kos turns into a poised, commanding peacock and seeks to transform the orchestra to suit his own agenda and inflated vision. Peter Solan (Before Tonight is Over) crafts an absurdist, darkly funny Kafkaesque satire of a corrupt system that rewards mediocrity and breeds petty dictatorship. Openly criticising the practices of socialist Czechoslovakia at the time, its wry exposure of hypocrisy, sycophancy and the corrupting influence of power remains, unsurprisingly, fresh and relevant even today.

Special Features

Booklet, Documentaries: 'The Invincibility of Absurdity'; 'Portrait: Jarmila Kostova'., Short film by Viktor Kubal: 'Promotion' (Postup, 1968); Documentary short from Peter Solan: 'Nemecká' (1974).

Actors: Josef Kemr, Jan Bzduch, Jarmila Kostova, Jaroslav Rozsíval, Viliam Polónyi

Audio Languages: Slovak, Slovakian, Slovene

Duration: 92 minutes

Number of Discs: 1

Subtitle Languages: English

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