I Served the King of England

I Served the King of England comes from the Czech Republic but spins a fable set in Czechoslovakia. World class director Jiri Menzel has made a film that, with its overt symbolism, copious nudity and love of the common man, moves like it was made in the 60s. Fans of classic cinema will embrace ISTKOE yet it seems like a throwback to a different era of movie making.
The lead is played by two people, young Jan (Ivan Barnev) and old Jan (Oldrich Kaiser). Old Jan flashes back to his youth as the story illustrates the changes in government under the Nazis and then under the Communists.
Young Jan works as a waiter at swank hotels and bordellos throughout the kingdom and his fortunes are blessed at first. The maître d' proclaims that he served the King of England. When the maître d' is too tall for the King of Abyssinia to crown with an honorary award the pendant goes to Jan. Eventually Jan earns the wrath of his countrymen when he sides with a voluptuous German femme, herself part of the Sudeten/German restructuring of Czechoslovakia but it's nothing like the harsh treatment he's delivered once the war is over and now as a hotel owner and millionaire he must turn his possessions over to the state and serve prison time.
There's a lyrical bounce that permeates the film. Many of the scenes have geometric composition. For instance, many waiters lined up behind each dignitary at a lengthy table, each pouring a glass of wine one after the other takes on the choreography of a Busby Berkeley musical number. There's a romantic tone to many of the scenes. The lighting is usually comedy bright and golden. In the end it's a fable with a moral twist. Menzel adapted the story from the book by Bohumil Hrabal.