Czech Dream

Our membership at the Northwest Film Forum continues to be an amazing gift from our friends the Newmans. Without that membership, the obscure and rare films that come through there would be further off our radar and that would be a shame. We would have certainly missed the preview for this great documentary and that would have been a shame as well.

Two film students announce the opening of the fake "hypermarket" (think Walmart on steroids) for which they have created a fake media blitz in the month preceding its unveiling. A tension builds throughout as we near the "grand opening" and there are great scenes of market research and discussions happening at the media team's offices. They create a logo and some fantastic slogans: "Don't Come." "Don't wait." "Don't Spend Money." As someone in on the secret, you see the genius here, but the public is excited and curious.

Of course they are. Is it surprising that the public is gullible? No. Upsetting to feel manipulated? Sure. But the release of this hoax seems to be perfectly timed (perhaps by accident) with some political ad campaigns in Czechoslovakia, which makes the ruse even more clever and forces the public to think about what they are lead to believe and why.

Reminiscent of The Yes Men -- what a great movie that was too.