I Guess We'll Meet at Eurocamp

This tragicomic documentary by Erika Hníková describes life in the Czech village of Běšina through members of three local associations. The heroes of the film are a voluntary firefighter named František, a hunting club member named Mates, and a member of the Sokol athletics association named Pavel. Firefighters dislike Sokol members; the huntsmen try to stay out of things, but they prefer the firefighters; and Sokol members complain about everyone. _ While the village mayor was able to secure funds to build a training and recreation centre, Eurocamp is located outside the village and is intended more for tourists than locals, who have nowhere to go to meet because there is no cinema or pub in the village. _ In the film we take part in a firefighters' competition and also find ourselves present at the huntsmen's ball in the local Sokol club. On the basis of social events the director is able to show how social ties in the community have been severed. The young often leave to seek work in the city, and the old live though their memories in the midst of the reminders of old times, such as the former agricultural cooperative, now consumed by weeds. _ The transformation of the Czech countryside is captured in the film by means of a modern form of narration, which in statements and situations is able to convey the distance that exists between neighbours and the irrational impulses that affect their behaviour. _ The documentary closes with a letter from the mayor expressing his opposition to the film: On behalf of the citizens of Běšiny I invite you all to come see us. Come swim in the repaired swimming pool at Eurocamp, and you can even come on bicycle along the regional cycling trails.