The Oscar-nominated ‘The Firemen’s Ball’ is the final film that director Miloš Forman made in Czechoslovakia before going into exile in the United States.In their small-town meeting hall, a maladroit committee of volunteer firefighters holds a ball to celebrate the retirement of one of their own, but thanks to poor planning and lack of leadership, the evening quickly devolves into a catastrophe. Nobody can prevent the lottery prizes from being stolen out from under the very noses of those guarding them. A beauty contest turns into an embarrassing farce, and the brigade can’t even respond properly to a real fire next door.
