Happy End is a 1967 Czechoslovak New Wave absurdist dark comedy film directed by Oldřich Lipský. Theodor Pištěk 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
References
External links