Knoflikari(1997) -
The title comes from one of the film’s most infamous "deviations": a group of men (called "Tverps") who use dentures held between their thighs to "bite" buttons off furniture—sofas, taxi seats, you name it. It’s a literal manifestation of Zelenka’s theme: minor, personal perversions that people use to cope with a world that feels increasingly fragmented and chaotic.
If you haven’t yet experienced the surreal, dark brilliance of Petr Zelenka’s Knoflíkáři (translated as Buttoners ), you’re missing one of the most original pieces of Czech cinema to emerge from the 1990s. Forget standard linear plots; this film is a kaleidoscope of six interconnected stories that weave together social satire, historical speculation, and some truly bizarre human perversions. Knoflikari(1997)
Couples struggling to find genuine love in a society where "everything is in motion" and everyone is essentially alone. Why It Still Matters The title comes from one of the film’s
The film opens with a strange prologue in 1945 Kokura, Japan, where four men curse the bad weather—unaware that the rain is the only thing saving them from the atomic bomb originally destined for their city. Fast forward 50 years to Prague, 1995, and the ghost of that historical event continues to ripple through a series of "tragicomic" vignettes. Forget standard linear plots; this film is a
It won four Czech Lions (including Best Film, Director, and Screenplay) and the Tiger Award at the Rotterdam International Film Festival. It’s a film that asks big questions—about responsibility, forgiveness, and the "moral fall-out" of history—all while showing you things you’ve never seen on screen before. Knoflíkáři (1997) - Filmový přehled
Knoflíkáři captured the "restlessness" of the post-communist Czech Republic, where the old rules were gone and the new ones hadn't quite settled. It’s often compared to the work of (specifically Night on Earth ) or the absurdist surrealism of Luis Buñuel .