Has the film My Village Center in Hungary been screened? Of course, and every year it runs on some TV channel and the Internet. Some like him, others do not comment on him. Because the Hungarian translation for dubbing at Vesnička is not as funny and witty as the Czech one. But Menzel’s film Clippings is the most popular in Hungary.
What have you always valued in the person of Mr. Jiří Menzel? It’s primarily his humor and humanism. His vast knowledge and intelligence.
How did you work with Jiří Menzel? Always happy. Even in cases where I was a little upset, I couldn’t be mad at him. If we didn’t understand something, I still couldn’t be angry with him.
Did Zdeněk Svěrák, the author of the screenplay for the film Vesničko má středisková, allow you to put a few words into your film? There was no need. I scrapped the text in Czech until I could say it. It was not easy at all, because I did not know a word of Czech.
In the Czech Republic, film reports from Vesnička became popular. Does this also exist in Hungary? I do not know about it. But as I say, the Hungarian translation does not reach the quality of a Czech text. But that does not detract from the quality of the film.
At the opening night of the Jiří Menzel Festival, you admitted that you have your famous teeth hidden as a souvenir at home. Do you also have “swipe” headphones at home? I don’t have that, because it was a Barrand prop, I had to return it. But the denture was mine, I had it done back then. I have it hidden in a drawer at home in memory.
A lot of time has passed since the release of the film, your fellow teammates are leaving us, eg Marián Labuda in 2018, Jiří Menzel 2020, Libuše Šafránková 2021. Do you have information and how do you react? My friend László Szabó supplies me fresh information and I sincerely regret that there are fewer and fewer of us. I was very pleased with today’s meeting with Mr. Svěrák, because who knows if we will ever meet again. That’s life. But the film will hopefully live on.
How do you spend your free time? I mostly spend time in my village house at Lake Balaton. I would go crazy in Budapest. I only go there for shows. I have hobbies that are useful. I grow vegetables, fruits, burn brandy, make wine. My kids always ask: Dad, are you preparing for war? They make fun of me. But a few weeks ago, I told them: So look around what’s going on and they don’t laugh anymore.
What are they looking forward to in the future? At present, I take out theatrical work only in exceptional cases and it is not a question of money. So theater comes first …
Mr. János Bán also visited the exhibition entitled “Jiří Menzel’s Whimsical Journeys” at the Bez zábradlí Theater and charity auction of Jiří Menzel’s subjects pro Jiří Menzel Endowment Fund.
Jiří Menzel Festival, dedicated to the memory of one of the most important Czech film and theater creators, will last in the Bez zábradlí Theater until 28 April.
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