Jiri Menzel fought tooth and nail for the rights to Bohumil Habril's legendry novel and as is often the case with adaptations the film was reportedly received in the Czech Republic with widespread dissatisfaction about some of the creative choices.

I was blithely ignorant of this debate, and enjoyed the film as a kind of picaresque serio-comedy in the vein of Henry Fielding's Tom Jones. In both cases we follow the romantic exploits of both characters, except our hero here is a more earnest and naive everyman, who provides a mirror to Czech society in the years before, during, and after the Second World War.

The film is told in episodic flashbacks through the diminutive Jan Dite who as a poor and simple young man, dreams of becoming a millionaire by owning his own hotel. It's unusually playful and poignant at the same time, and luxuriously shot at times. Ivan Barnev gives a enjoyable performance as the Buster-Keatonish younger Jan with a penchant for visual humour. Worth seeing alone for the way it depicts the rise and demise of the Nazi dream of Aryan purity.