Pearls of the Deep

Five top directors of the Czech New Wave contributed to this anthology of shorts based on stories by writer Bohumil Hrabal. Jiri Menzel examines a motorcycle race through the eyes of the spectators in "Mr. Baltazar"; two elderly men are the focus of Jan Nemec's "The Swindlers"; Evald Schorm's "House of Joy" deals with a primitive artist; gender politics are satirized in Vera Chytilová's "The Globe Buffet"; and Jaromil Jires traces a youthful "Romance." 103 min. Standard; Soundtrack: Czech; Subtitles: English; excised segments "A Boring Afternoon," : The Junk Shop"; featurette; theatrical trailer. In Czech with English subtitles.