The Barnabás Kos Case
16/04/1965
In this bitingly satirical film Peter Slovan, a continuous source of trouble for the film functionaries of the socialist Slovakia, tackles an evergreen topic – the corruptive effects of power. Barnabáš Kos, a triangle player at a symphonic orchestra, is suddenly promoted to serve as the head of the said institution, even though both he and his superiors deem him completely unfit for the task. Encouraged in equal parts by this unexpected recognition and the servile praise of his colleagues, Kos’s modesty starts to gradually vanish. The erstwhile bashful and aloof percussionist quickly becomes aware of the advantages of his new office, and begins to realise his increasingly ludicrous artistic ambitions. Ultimately, the submissive marionette turns into a source of public humiliation, and his astonishing career finds an abrupt end. Orchestra serves here as a microcosm that grotesquely reflects the absurd and tragicomic mechanisms of the paranoid apparatus of power.
Movie Information
Josef Kemr
as Barnabáš Kos
Jarmila Košťová
as Julka
Milivoj Uzelac
as Conductor Ruman
Josef Bartl
as
Ján Bzdúch
as Gregus
Hana Sarvašová
as
Viliam Polónyi
as Gajdoš
Eduard Grečner
as
Jozef Hanúsek
as
Naďa Hejná
as Růžičková
Dagmar Kákošová
as
Jindřich Láznička
as
Jaroslav Rozsíval
as Vavro
Anton Trón
as
Jaroslav Vrzala
as
Zoltán Sačarovský
as
Nina Doktorová
as
Helena Paulíny-Tóthová
as
Ivan Krivosudský
as Barnabáš Kos (voice)
Michal Belák
as Conductor Ruman (voice)
Oľga Adamčíková
as Růžičková (voice)
