Autumn Spring

The final performance by Czech actor Vlastimil Brodsky (Closely Watched Trains, Jacob the Liar) is, to quote one character in this life-affirming human comedy, “a masterpiece of acting.” Brodsky stars as Frantisek, a 76-year-old man who, along with his best friend, amuses himself by impersonating a variety of characters. Favorite gambits include passing himself off as a retired opera star interested in buying a mansion, and a subway ticket agent who steals kisses from unsuspecting female infractors. Meanwhile, his loving, but exasperated wife socks money away for their funerals (a subject he is by no means ready or willing to consider), and he resists efforts by his much-married son to move the couple into an old-age home so he can have the apartment for his third wife and family. Things ultimately come to a head when his cons are discovered and he must pay restitution out of the couple's nest egg. The ending is one of the loveliest you'll see, as the wife discovers her own inner Ferris Bueller, and becomes her husband's partner in mischief (sadly, Brodsky did not take this film to heart; he became ill shortly after its completion and committed suicide). One foreign film that would actually be welcome for an American remake, Autumn Spring would have been perfect for the late Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy; now I'm thinking Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. Highly recommended. (K. Lee Benson)