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Ball Lightning (Czech: Kulový blesk) is a 1979 Czechoslovak comedy film. The screenplay was written by Zdeněk Svěrák, Ladislav Smoljak and Zdeněk Podskalský and the film was directed by Smoljak and Podskalský. Rudolf Hrušínský plays the starring role and is joined in the cast by others including Josef Abrhám, Daniela Kolářová, and Zita Kabátová.

Plot

Dr. Radosta organizes a twelve-apartment swap on request of people interested in the swap of apartment in Prague, which he called "Ball Lightning", because it had to take place quickly, energetically and all at once. Doctor Radosta is assisted among those involved in the swap by Mr. Knotek as his assistant engineer Severín, who has a reliable car including home-made car airbags, as a messenger. In order to be able to carry out the "biggest event in the history of moving", as the group's organizer describes it, Dr. Radosta unbeknownst the wedding of the older couple engaged Mr. Flieger and Mrs. Opatrná on a different date and place, because they must be married before the swap takes place from legal reasons of the time story happened. For this reason, Mr. Knotek must represent the groom's original witness. The wedding festivities result in a nightly moving exercise organized by the drunken Mr. Knotek, after which especially the punctual inspector Mr. Drahota wants to resign from his swap. Dr. Radosta convinces him to stay among the participants, and Mr. Knotek must personally apologize to everyone for the night's disturbance.

In last days before the swap of Mrs. Jechová apartment complicate situation, although she originally had no objections to apartment with family Knotek, she additionally demands the Knotek´s washing machine from them because there is not laundry in the house, and she also demands the replacement of the basement storage cellar, which is in her view be too far and too deep. However, for Mr. Knotek, swap of the basement storage cellars with the unpopular neighbor Klabouch also represents a laborious mutual exchange of their coal. Mrs. Jechová surprisingly praises the attic (for drying the clothes) in the house, when the Knotek´s were afraid of further complications from her about the attic as well.

Even the moving process itself is not without problems, it seems at first that the whole swap will be ruined by Mrs. Jechová, who refuses to move out because of memories of her deceased husband. In the end, however, she allows herself to be convinced. Another complication is with old opera master Bílek, whom Mr. Knotek cannot wake up and believe he have died. If he were dead, the swap could not take place, because legally he would not voluntarily move out of the apartment. Therefore, together with Doctor Radosta, they decide to move Master Bílek's body covered by duvets on the couch to a new apartment and pretend that he died there. However, the couch in question was previously purchased from Master Bílek by the antiques collector Doctor Ječný who demands his couch. At first, they tries to hide the alleged death of master Bílek to him, but Doctor Ječný won't let himself be brush off. After unpacking the couch, he discovers that the couch has been exchanged for a similar piece by Mr. Flieger and Mrs. Opatrná. They rush to where the second couch has been moved so that no one else will uncover the duvets. However, it is eventually discovered that the master Bílek did not actually die, he was merely fast asleep after an all-night packing. The entire twelve apartments swap will therefore be successful. During the closing credits, we see how Dr. Radosta is planning another swap, this time twenty-four apartment swap, under the name "Ball Lightning II" (whereby the names on the diagram belong to the crew members).

References

1. "Kulový blesk". Czech Film Archive (in Czech). n.d. Retrieved 31 January 2024.

External links

• Ball Lightning at IMDb

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• 1979 films
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• Films directed by Ladislav Smoljak
• Films directed by Zdeněk Podskalský
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• Films with screenplays by Zdeněk Svěrák
• Czech comedy films
• 1970s Czech films
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• 1970s comedy film stubs