Kým sa skoncí táto noc

An exceptional film from Peter Solan places us amid the relationships the interactions playing out between a handful patrons and the employees of a trendy Slovak nightclub. Overt the course of just one evening this confined setting film is a clever and brilliant psychological study. Wonderfully innovative & improvisational filmmaking, having no substantial plot the film is however totally engaging from start to finish. With great emotional depth the complexities of social interaction of our human psyche are thoughtfully portrayed building an incisive engrossing drama . A terrific cast of characters are accompanied with a swing band and dancing girls who keep the patrons entertained throughout, Masterly crafted from the director & crew, Kým sa skoncí táto noc is vibrant universally appealing an outstanding highlight of mid 60s Czech New Wave... Highly Recommended !!

The film begins when an unusual man enters down the stairs and into the underground club. He looks strange all in black and with dark glasses and looks around. A couple of waiters say he can come in but there is no one there so he turns and goes out again. At the end he comes in again but it seems as if nothing else has changed and he leaves again. In between however we have a crowded night club with jazz music and exotic dancers and people drinking, a lot. We see a couple of young girls and two guys think that maybe they might be Poles and one of them thinks he should chat them up. There not Poles but they both join them although things get rather strange and everyone does a lot of drinking, a little dancing and some chatting up. Although when I saw this at first I thought it's really odd but then I realise that although there is a script most of this is improvised and the absurd encounters are intended. There is really something really fresh and exciting although it does feel rather difficult at first.

Peter Sloan's dazzling multi-character drama, perhaps, remains one of the lesser-seen masterpieces of the 60s Czech new wave. Set over one especially eventful night in a wintry ski-resort hotel, the increasingly inebriated guests colourful interactions make for unusually compelling cinema. Not dissimilar to Milos Forman's ensemble masterclass Fireman's Ball, Sloan's vibrant, immaculately performed narrative does occasionally suggest that the plot may suddenly take a much darker turn. While Before Tonight is Over is frequently playful and witty, there's a tangible sense of melancholy throughout, imbuing the motivations of these increasingly noisome revellers with a profound pathos. While Solan's fascinating film is manifestly of its time, the deleterious malaise following WW2 and the incumbent ogre of Soviet communism are undeniable, but Before Tonight is Over remains strikingly relevant, and deeply relatable, potently crackling with the galvanic intensity of Dogma manifesto Festen. I adore vibrant European cinema that inspires, offering compelling insights into a country's beleaguered history, and in many instances I am called to reflect upon the old adage 'the more things change, the more they stay the same!'