RETURN OF THE IDIOT

No, it's not another Adam Sandler picture. In 1868, Fyodor Dostoyevsky's classic novel “The Idiot” created, if you will, a deeper, darker, more intriguing Russian variant of Forrest Gump; a simple, innocent soul whose directness and lack of deceit unmasked the lies and pretensions surrounding him ? oftentimes with unfortunate results. In this modern-day update, a boyish, honest, and gentle mental-hospital outpatient named Franti?ek is released into a cold world after years of electro-shock treatment because, as his doctor said, he “can no longer hide from life.” Arriving by train unexpectedly at the home of some distant relatives one winter, his low-key presence nonetheless causes turmoil. Wide-eyed, seemingly-harmless Franti?ek may be an ?idiot? who has never experienced sex, alcohol, or even dancing, but he's nobody's fool, as the visitor's clear gaze and impartial utterances wipe the frost and fog away and lay bare a tortured double love triangle embroiling two lumpen families. Life may be just like a box of chocolates, but seldom does it taste as bittersweet as in Sa?a Gedeon's muted domestic tragicomedy. (In Czech with English subtitles.)