It was truly only an unlikely chain of circumstances that led to me discovering this film, and I really had no idea what I was getting into. I couldn't be more pleased that I did, though, because this is an absolute delight! It throws us right into the plot without a moment of hesitation or exposition, and even as the absurdity whips up right away it takes a while for the best of the comedy to truly take hold. Once it does, however, it more than makes up for the relative slowness of the early stretch, and the picture is wonderfully fun through to the very end. This is the anti-fascist Czechoslovak time travel comedy the world needed in 1977, and continues to be now; 'Tomorrow I'll wake up and scald myself with tea' is fantastic!
There's a lot that the feature asks us to accept at face value, and time travel is the least of the "near-future" technologies that's thrown at us. That matter-of-fact introduction of these plot elements only adds to the wild spirit, however, and the mirth continues apace in a tale of twin brothers, Nazis, changing the past, and love. All the while - even as the title takes some time to pick up steam - there is never any loss in the energy that it all carries, for every element it bent toward gleeful frivolity. This certainly goes for Jindrich Polák's direction, shrewdly maintaining a slight sense of dynamics and letting off the pressure intermittently just to allow it to pick up in the next moment, and ensuring that all the moving parts keep up. His task is made easier by working with a cast who are clearly having a blast, and the vitality they bring to the whole could not be more clear. Not to discount the work of anyone else, but naturally that goes most of all for star Petr Kostka, who most assuredly rises to the challenge of a dual role that kind of becomes even more. And still none of this would be possible with out Josef Nesvadba's short story, or more to the point Polák and Milos Macourek's adapted screenplay. The story is flush with weird, far-flung ideas to augment what is, in terms of twentieth century fiction a fairly familiar and almost "conventional" notion of time travel shenanigans. Each scene in turn is built to increasingly add more madcap silliness, and this really goes just as much for the dialogue. 'Tomorrow I'll wake up and scald myself with tea' is designed from top to bottom with joy first and foremost, and the result is unfailingly entertaining.
It's not unfair to say that the post-production visuals are maybe a tad out of date even for 1977, but given the off-kilter flavors this bears aloft in its ninety minutes I think this is an instance where the artificiality adds to the romp rather than remove us from the experience. Setting that aside everything here looks and sounds splendid, from filming locations and art direction, to stunts and practical effects, to costume design, hair, and makeup. Karel Svoboda's music adds to the light mood; the editing and cinematography are adept. Everything here is done very well, truly - and still such details don't necessarily matter so much, because it's a movie that wanted above all else to be funny and have a good time, and in that effort it handily succeeds. It was the name alone that first caught my eye when I stumbled onto it, and I sat to watch with no foreknowledge or expectations. I could hardly be happier with just what this turned out to be, and I've difficulty imagining that anyone could spend time here and not step away with a smile on their face. As far as I'm concerned this is all but a must-see: I adore this film, and I'm glad to give 'Tomorrow I'll wake up and scald myself with tea' my very high, enthusiastic recommendation!
There's a lot that the feature asks us to accept at face value, and time travel is the least of the "near-future" technologies that's thrown at us. That matter-of-fact introduction of these plot elements only adds to the wild spirit, however, and the mirth continues apace in a tale of twin brothers, Nazis, changing the past, and love. All the while - even as the title takes some time to pick up steam - there is never any loss in the energy that it all carries, for every element it bent toward gleeful frivolity. This certainly goes for Jindrich Polák's direction, shrewdly maintaining a slight sense of dynamics and letting off the pressure intermittently just to allow it to pick up in the next moment, and ensuring that all the moving parts keep up. His task is made easier by working with a cast who are clearly having a blast, and the vitality they bring to the whole could not be more clear. Not to discount the work of anyone else, but naturally that goes most of all for star Petr Kostka, who most assuredly rises to the challenge of a dual role that kind of becomes even more. And still none of this would be possible with out Josef Nesvadba's short story, or more to the point Polák and Milos Macourek's adapted screenplay. The story is flush with weird, far-flung ideas to augment what is, in terms of twentieth century fiction a fairly familiar and almost "conventional" notion of time travel shenanigans. Each scene in turn is built to increasingly add more madcap silliness, and this really goes just as much for the dialogue. 'Tomorrow I'll wake up and scald myself with tea' is designed from top to bottom with joy first and foremost, and the result is unfailingly entertaining.
It's not unfair to say that the post-production visuals are maybe a tad out of date even for 1977, but given the off-kilter flavors this bears aloft in its ninety minutes I think this is an instance where the artificiality adds to the romp rather than remove us from the experience. Setting that aside everything here looks and sounds splendid, from filming locations and art direction, to stunts and practical effects, to costume design, hair, and makeup. Karel Svoboda's music adds to the light mood; the editing and cinematography are adept. Everything here is done very well, truly - and still such details don't necessarily matter so much, because it's a movie that wanted above all else to be funny and have a good time, and in that effort it handily succeeds. It was the name alone that first caught my eye when I stumbled onto it, and I sat to watch with no foreknowledge or expectations. I could hardly be happier with just what this turned out to be, and I've difficulty imagining that anyone could spend time here and not step away with a smile on their face. As far as I'm concerned this is all but a must-see: I adore this film, and I'm glad to give 'Tomorrow I'll wake up and scald myself with tea' my very high, enthusiastic recommendation!