The Servant of Two Masters

The Servant of Two Masters is a mature example of commedia dell'arte, featuring traditional characters and situations. It takes place within a close-knit family, where the main event is an engagement complicated by the servant Truffaldino, who is both cunning and foolish. He sets in motion a comedy of mistaken identities and misunderstandings, driven by his eternal hunger, through unexpected twists and turns to a happy ending. He is surrounded by traditional characters – commedia dell'arte masks – the worried father Pantalone, the wise doctor, and their children in love, an adventurous couple of lovers, the innkeeper Brighella, and the maid Smeraldina. Truffaldina is played by Miroslav Donutil, who continues the tradition of improvisation to the great delight of many audience members.

In the film, the creative forces of personalities from three spheres of art collide. The subtitle "The Game of Love and Hate" refers to the motivation of an old Czech medieval satire, the theme belongs to Antonín Přidal, an expert on this subject. His collaboration with Juraj Herz created a collage of past and present, an updated, sharp satire and a parable about the clash of human qualities that could not but end up in the vault. The music of the Prague Selection - Michael Kocáb and Michal Pavlíček - also contributed to the film's offensive provocativeness - the film was one of the reasons for their complete move to the underground. The dancing chorus of medieval citizens resembles more of a jumble of long-haired maniacs, the edge of a contemporary dump intrudes into the space of a medieval marketplace, and the characters oscillate between the past and the present, whether in their appearance, symbolism or behaviour.

Francin, manager of a small-town brewery, has a charming wife whose abundant blonde locks are an adornment to the town. Maryska looks ethereal but loves meat and beer, while Francin is an ascetic. The strict members of the brewery board of directors come to audit the accounts, but are diverted from concentrating on Francin's detailed reports by Maryska, who has organized a pig-killing feast and is ably assisting the butcher. When she invites the old curmudgeons on the board to enjoy the fresh pork, they are too happy to agree. Francin doesn't know whether he is going to get a permanent contract. To make things worse his brother Pepin - eccentric, noisy and garrulous - turns up on an indefinite visit.

A young waitress, Dana, works in a roadside motel. She longs for the big, distant world, for beautiful things, and perhaps even for love. But her life is filled with various short-term relationships, her lover is a passing truck driver, a rich, elderly stranger, and random acquaintances who give her gifts. The girl does nothing to fulfill her dreams. Coincidence brings a group of students to the motel, and one of them, Martin, takes a liking to the waitress. A relationship develops that could perhaps lead to sincere love, to the fulfillment of her wish for a new life...