Happy End (1967 film)

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Happy End
Directed by	Milos Macourek
Produced by	Milos Stejskal
Starring	Vladimír Menšík
Cinematography	Vladimír Novotný
Edited by	Miroslav Hájek
Release date	1967
Running time	71 minutes
Country	Czechoslovakia
Language	Czech

Happy End is a 1967 Czechoslovak comedy film directed by

designed the costumes for the film. The film is told backwards, beginning with the protagonist's death (which he describes as his birth) and ending with his birth (described as his death).

Plot

Happy end tells the life story of a butcher named Bedřich Frydrych; however, it is told entirely in reverse, giving rise to a different story than the one a forward-flowing narrative would depict. It thus begins with Bedřich's "birth" (his execution by guillotine), followed by a "childhood" spent in school (prison), whereupon he sets out into the world and soon marries, although he has to assemble his wife-to-be from various parts (killing and dismembering her, after finding out she is having an affair).

The reversed chronology also applies to dialogue: lines are read in an ostensibly reversed order, variously resulting in sheer situational comedy and dada.

Cast

• Vladimír Menšík - Butcher Bedřich Frydrych
• Jaroslava Obermaierová - Julie
• Josef Abrhám - Ptáček
• Bohuš Záhorský - Father-in-law
• Stella Zázvorková - Mother-in-law
• Jaroslav Štercl - Constable
• Helena Růžičková - Brunette
• Josef Hlinomaz - Commissioner
• Martin Růžek - Prosecutor
• Jiří Steimar
• Bedřich Prokos - Priest
• Mirko Musil - Warden

External links

• Happy End at
  IMDb