Czech Dream – ICA and Curzon
WHO knew that Czechs are a nation mad keen on hypermarkets, sometimes spending entire weekends roaming the aisles? From within the realms of ‘stunt docs’ such as Morgan Spurlock’s SuperSize Me, Czech Dream takes this intimate and extremely political fact and runs with it, becoming one of the most daring documentaries in recent years.
Two film students (Vit Klusak and Filip Remunda) mount an elaborate set up to fool what seems to be the entire Czech nation by promoting, designing and ‘building’ a fake hypermarket.
Using a grant, they begin a well-planned, sophisticated media assault across Prague, taunting the public with posters and ads which beg them not to come to the new store, soon to open.
Sadly, Czech Dream reveals that, as a nation, Czechs are addicted to shopping and they are also painfully aware of this fact, remaining almost helpless in its grip. What happens is an eye-opening, excruciatingly painful tale that sears the nerve endings by the fact that this is not fiction.
Innovative, amazing, alarming and shocking documentary making at its naked best.