Movies like The Joke
If you like "The Joke" you are looking for disturbing, experimental and controversial movies about / with communist, renaissance, communism, politics, revenge, restaurant and adultery themes of Comedy and Drama genre shot in Czechoslovakia.
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1. Identify all themes of interest from this film (block below).
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The Joke (1969)
2K
Original name: Žert
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Czechoslovakia
Duration: 80 min.
Story:
In the 1950s, Ludvik Jahn was expelled from the Communist Party and the University by his fellow students, because of a politically incorrect note he sent to his girlfriend. Fifteen years later, he tries to get his revenge by seducing Helena, the wife of one of his accusers.
Style:
disturbing, experimental, controversial, avant garde, sincere, rough, emotional, realistic, semi serious, non-linear ...
Plot:
communist, renaissance, communism, politics, revenge, restaurant, adultery, exile, memory, election, totalitarian regime, radical, hard labor, communist party, age-gap relationship, betrayal, fighting the system, satire, college, friends, womanizer, university, life is a bitch, rebellion, couples ...
Time:
20th century, 1940s, year 1969, 50s, year 1949, 1950s
Place:
eastern europe, prague, europe, czechoslovakia, central europe, czech republic, prague czechoslovakia ...
Most similar movies to The Joke
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out realistic, semi serious, humorous and talky films with plots about husband wife relationship, society, politics, satire, communist, nude and bare chested male mostly in Drama, Comedy and Romance genres. Some movies like The Joke: Closely Watched Trains (1966), Cosy Dens (1999), Pearls of the Deep (1965), The Witness (1969), Pupendo (2003). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance, War
Country: Czechoslovakia
Duration: 92 min.
Story:
In a small town still occupied by the Germans as World War II's tide is turning toward the Allies, apprentice train-watcher Milos is oblivious to the war. Instead, he is obsessed with having his first sexual experience. Despite the favors of ...
Style:
erotic, atmospheric, talky, touching, realistic ...
Plot:
world war two, coming of age, satire, resistance, storytelling, stallion, politics, occupation, communism, village life, wartime life, partisan ...
Time:
20th century, 1940s, year 1966, 1930s
Place:
czech republic, eastern europe, europe, czechoslovakia, prague ...
Similarity:
95%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Czech Republic
Duration: 115 min.
Story:
Two families, Sebkovi and Krausovi, are celebrating christmas, but not everyone is in a good mood. Teenage kids think their fathers are totaly stupid, fathers are sure their children are nothing more than rebels, hating anything they say. Written by ...
Style:
cult classic, humorous, touching, semi serious, realistic ...
Plot:
christmas, coming of age, renaissance, communism, boy, communist, occupation, domineering father, death, neighbor, mission, totalitarian regime ...
Time:
year 1968, 60s, year 1967
Place:
czech republic, prague, eastern europe, balkan, europe ...
Similarity:
84%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Czechoslovakia
Duration: 107 min.
Story:
A manifesto of sorts for the Czech New Wave, this five-part anthology shows off the breadth of expression and the versatility of the movement’s directors. Based on stories by the legendary writer Bohumil Hrabal, the shorts range from the surreally ...
Style:
anthology, avant garde, tragicomedy, fairy tale
Plot:
renaissance, surrealism, gypsy, motorcycle race, insurance agent, modernism, satire, fiancee, dark humor, pub, car, old man ...
Place:
czechoslovakia, eastern europe, prague, central europe
Similarity:
73%
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Country: Hungary
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
Known as the best satire about communism, banned for over a decade in Hungary. 'The Witness' has become a cult classic, well received by critics and general audiences when it was finally released outside of Hungary. 'The Witness' ...
Style:
black comedy, parody, cult classic, dark comedy, semi serious ...
Plot:
satire, communism, political satire, dark humor, society, corruption, priest, socialism, meat, rehabilitation, hunting, amusement park ...
Time:
year 1969, 50s, 1950s
Place:
hungary, eastern europe, budapest, europe
Similarity:
68%
Movie in collections

Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Czech Republic
Duration: 120 min.
Story:
Artist Bedřich Mára (Bolek Polivka) is unable to find much secure work due to his public antagonism toward the ruling Communist Party. He has a wife and two children. Life begins to change when art historian Alois Fábera (Jiři Pecha) begins ...
Style:
realistic, humorous, semi serious, captivating, period drama
Plot:
family life, life is a bitch, political unrest, survival, down on your luck, communism, performer's life, bare chested male, talking about masturbation, masturbation, school principal, secretly observing ...
Time:
80s, 20th century
Place:
balkan, europe, central europe, czechoslovakia, prague ...
Similarity:
67%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, France, Germany, Japan, USA
Duration: 143 min.
Story:
In this adaptation of the best-selling roman à clef about Bill Clinton's 1992 run for the White House, the young and gifted Henry Burton is tapped to oversee the presidential campaign of Governor Jack Stanton. Burton is pulled into the ...
Style:
political, cynical, thought provoking, intense, witty ...
Plot:
politics, scandal, satire, president, idealism, propaganda, adultery, presidential election, political satire, election, media, political corruption ...
Time:
90s, 20th century, 70s
Place:
new york, florida, washington d.c., new hampshire, miami ...
Similarity:
67%
Genre: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 160 min.
Story:
Man of Marble is a Polish film about a student making a film about a bricklayer who was once idolized. She interviews people who knew him and finds old footage that lead to an unfolding mystery that causes her producer to cancel the project.
Style:
emotional, meditative, compassionate, talky, disturbing ...
Plot:
politics, terrorist, visceral, communism, friendship, working class, honest, eviction, renaissance, heroes, journalism, father daughter relationship ...
Time:
70s, 1950s, year 1976, year 1977, 20th century ...
Place:
poland, eastern europe, europe, canada, japan ...
Similarity:
65%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Czech Republic, UK, Denmark
Duration: 104 min.
Story:
Czech literature teacher Josef Tkaloun, who is past retirement age, realises one day that he no longer understands his pupils, and so he quits… dramatically. What he does not predict is that in doing this he will lose his sense of place in society.
Style:
semi serious, humorous, realistic, emotional, sentimental ...
Plot:
infidelity, dishonesty, hopes, starting over, couple relations, friends, couples, family relations, parents and children, friendship, supermarket, teacher ...
Time:
20th century, 21st century
Place:
balkan, eastern europe, prague, europe, czech republic
Similarity:
64%
Movie in collections
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Czechoslovakia
Duration: 85 min.
Story:
Reality movie of a few days in the life of a Czechoslovak teenager when he starts work.
Style:
thought provoking, avant garde, contemplative, biting, realistic ...
Plot:
coming of age, boy girl relationship, renaissance, adolescence, parent child relationship, youth, shoplifting, smoking, teenage boy, teenager in love, daydreamer, boys and girls ...
Time:
60s, 20th century
Place:
eastern europe, europe, czech republic
Similarity:
60%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 150 min.
Story:
Drama about the difficulties of a group of people trying to change their lives. A group of people gathers in a terrace in Rome . Some are friends, some know each other and others just meet for the first time. All are intellectual and belong to the ...
Style:
captivating, satirical, non-linear, contemplative, semi serious ...
Plot:
food, husband wife relationship, member of parliament, screenwriter, communist, television, restaurant, politics, satire, friends, couples, unfulfillment ...
Time:
70s, 20th century
Place:
rome italy, italy
Similarity:
59%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Yugoslavia
Duration: 87 min.
Story:
Inspired by Karl Marx's "Das Kapital", three men and a girl named Jugoslava decide to wake up the conscience within the working class and peasants. Faced with the primitivism and a lack of morale, their revolution fails and the girl ...
Style:
black and white, biting, semi serious, realistic, sexual ...
Plot:
revolution, revolutionary, protest, black, politics, feminism, sexual content, society, rebellion, coming of age, state affairs, youth ...
Time:
60s, 20th century
Place:
slovakia, former yugoslavia, balkan, europe, czech republic
Similarity:
58%
Genre: Comedy, Drama, History
Country: Czech Republic
Duration: 114 min.
Story:
Adolescence is always a difficult time; it is doubly so for Gábina. For one thing, she is growing up in the normalization years of the 1970s, and then she also has to face the reality that her father is a well-known actor disavowed by the regime. ...
Style:
realistic, semi serious, sentimental, humorous, talky ...
Plot:
idealism, teenage life, fighting the system, youth, rebelliousness, hopes, politics, actor's life, parents and children, political unrest, adolescence, couples ...
Time:
70s, 20th century, 60s, year 1977, year 1968
Place:
prague, czechoslovakia, europe, czech republic, central europe
Similarity:
56%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Ireland, Denmark, UK
Duration: 103 min.
Story:
It is 1977, Dublin rocks to the music of Thin Lizzy and the world is stunned by the death of Elvis Presley. Frankie, caught between acne and adulthood, has just completed his final exams in school. Convinced he will fail, he survives the summer ...
Style:
humorous, light, talky, feel good, touching ...
Audience:
date night, teens
Plot:
politics, coming of age, cheerleader, male nudity, 17 year old, friendship, infidelity, self discovery, single parent, teenage love, best friend, introspection ...
Time:
year 1977, 70s, year 1996, 90s
Place:
ireland, dublin ireland, milwaukee wisconsin, massachusetts, europe ...
Similarity:
55%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 108 min.
Story:
Mimi is a Sicilian dockworker who loses his job when he votes against the Mafia candidate in what he thinks is a secret ballot. He leaves his wife behind and goes to Turin, where he meets and moves in with Fiore, a street vendor and Communist ...
Style:
sexy, black comedy, political, cult classic, realistic ...
Plot:
illicit affair, communist party, infidelity, female nudity, affair, nude girl, anarchist, age-gap relationship, women, woman, mafia, working class ...
Time:
year 1972, 70s
Place:
sicily, europe, italy, turin italy, southern italy
Similarity:
52%
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Drama
Country: Czechoslovakia
Duration: 88 min.
Story:
Andula, an innocent Czech girl from a factory town, is desperately in search of love. She believes she's found it when she beds Milda, a charming young musician visiting from Prague. Milda, however, is only looking for a casual encounter, and ...
Style:
art house, cynical, realistic, witty, humorous ...
Plot:
working class, one night stand, factory worker, boys and girls, blonde, female protagonist, love, female nudity, renaissance, small town, youth, satire ...
Time:
year 1965, 60s, 20th century
Place:
prague, eastern europe, balkan, europe, czechoslovakia ...
Similarity:
51%
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: Czechoslovakia
Duration: 85 min.
Story:
In an unusual, apolitical approach, director Jaromil Jires has fashioned a standard drama that features an older lawyer with failing health who goes to practice in the countryside. His series of odd court cases reveals more about the human condition ...
Style:
crying, freeze frame, tragicomedy
Plot:
legal, renaissance, boss secretary relationship, psychological manipulation, cafe, old man, lawyer, small town, justice, accusation, flashback, prison guard ...
Time:
70s, 20th century
Place:
eastern europe, central europe, europe, prague
Similarity:
50%
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Czechoslovakia
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
Set in the late 1940s, the film concerns the treatment of suspect "bourgeois elements", a professor, a saxophonist, and a milkman, who are put to work in a junkyard for rehabilitation.
Style:
serious, realistic, gloomy, touching, black comedy ...
Plot:
nudity, peeping, female nudity, renaissance, bride and groom, nude girl, election, international relations, satire, politics, love of one's life, wedding ...
Time:
1940s, 50s, 1950s
Place:
czech republic, eastern europe, balkan, europe, prague ...
Similarity:
49%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Czechoslovakia, Italy
Duration: 73 min.
Story:
In Milos Forman's satire on Communism set in a small Czechoslovakian town in the 1960s, the local firemen decide to organize a ball, however the proceedings are dogged by difficulty at every step. They plan to organize a beauty pageant at the ...
Style:
black comedy, dark comedy, allegory, surreal, cult classic ...
Plot:
satire, firefighter, political satire, corruption, bureaucracy, fire, husband wife relationship, confusion, fire brigade, small town, renaissance, farce ...
Time:
year 1967, 60s, 20th century
Place:
czech republic, eastern europe, czechoslovakia
Similarity:
48%
Movie in collections
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
A small group of French students are studying Mao, trying to find out their position in the world and how to change the world to a Maoistic community using terrorism.
Style:
political, philosophical, experimental, art house, cult classic ...
Plot:
politics, revolution, capitalism, class struggle, communism, anarchist, protest, marxist, terrorist, terrorism, suicide, dialectical materialism ...
Time:
year 1967, 60s
Place:
france, paris france, soviet union, europe, usa ...
Similarity:
47%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: China, Hong Kong
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
The Story of Qiu Ju is a 1992 Chinese comedy-drama film. The film was directed by Zhang Yimou and, as in many of his films, stars Gong Li in the title role. The screenplay is an adaption of Chen Yuanbin's novella The Wan Family's Lawsuit. ...
Style:
realistic, lighthearted, serious, touching, clever ...
Plot:
satire, pregnancy, asian history, peasant, revolution, politics, social commentary, justice, professional, lawyer, pregnant woman, women ...
Time:
year 1992, 90s, 70s
Place:
china, tibet, asia, california
Similarity:
44%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
The concurrent sexual lives of best friends Jonathan and Sandy are presented, those lives which are affected by the sexual mores of the time and their own temperament, especially in relation to the respective women who end up in their lives.
Style:
sexy, controversial, sexual, depressing, erotic ...
Audience:
date night, adult
Plot:
college, mate swapping, coming of age, sexual content, relationships, friendship, love triangle, campus, college life, infidelity, friends, sex ...
Time:
1940s, 60s, 20th century, 50s, 1950s ...
Place:
new york, vietnam, usa, asia, california
Similarity:
43%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 84 min.
Story:
Explores the sensitive, and tense, relationship between life on an First Nations reservation and life in the outside world. When Native Canadian Silas Crow is forced to write a personal essay in order to get a much-desired job, he tells the story of ...
Style:
independent film, contemplative, serious, realistic, clever ...
Plot:
native american, native american reservation, native, indigenous people, revenge, friendship, coming of age, american indian, indians, racism, family relations, best friend ...
Time:
90s
Place:
ontario canada, canada
Similarity:
41%
844
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min.
Story:
Brooks Wilson is in crisis. He is torn between his wife Selma and two daughters and his mistress Grace, and also between his career as a successful illustrator and his feeling that he might still produce something worthwhile.
Style:
semi serious, realistic, humorous, disgusting, sex comedy
Plot:
female nudity, satire, infidelity, girlfriend, couples, couple relations, unfulfillment, love and romance, leadership, dishonesty, addiction, suburban life ...
Time:
70s
Place:
new york, manhattan new york city, connecticut
Similarity:
40%
Movie in collections
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 106 min.
Story:
A group of students are spending the summer vacation at a university camp studying the science of linguistics. One of the camp directors, Jaroslaw, is a young professor who prefers the straightforward, intimate approach to students. He is opposed in ...
Style:
realistic, semi serious, cynical, biting, thought provoking ...
Plot:
renaissance, campus, father son relationship, male nudity, sex, skinny dipping, nude girl, summer, satire, intrigue, manipulation, summer camp ...
Time:
year 1977, 70s, 20th century
Place:
poland, eastern europe, europe, central europe, former yugoslavia
Similarity:
40%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min.
Story:
Russian political elite hires American consultants to help with President Yeltsin's re-election campaign when his approval rating is down to single digits.
Style:
clever, realistic, political, talky, humorous ...
Plot:
politics, campaign, head of state, businessman, rise to the top, leadership, idealism, political unrest, political conspiracy, culture clash, rebellion, society ...
Time:
year 1996, 90s
Place:
russia, moscow russia
Similarity:
39%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Russia, France
Duration: 147 min.
Story:
Military doctor General Klenski is arrested in Stalin's Russia in 1953 during an anti-Semitic political campaign accused of being a participant in so-called "doctors' plot".
Style:
black and white, psychedelic, aesthetic, slow cinema, political ...
Plot:
stalinism, train, kgb, head of state, politics, gang, state affairs, downfall, on the run, injustice, dark humor, riddles and clues ...
Time:
50s, 1950s
Place:
ussr, soviet union, russia, moscow russia
Similarity:
39%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Yugoslavia
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
Balkanski špijun is a 1984 Yugoslav comedy/drama. Ilija Čvorović, a former Stalinist who spent several years in a prison on Goli otok, is contacted by the police to routinely answer questions about his tenant, Petar Markov Jakovljević, a ...
Style:
funny, dark comedy, black comedy, thought provoking, realistic ...
Plot:
spy, communism, espionage, cold war, amateur detective, secret mission, conspiracy, cold war era, communist, badass, hitman, mental health ...
Time:
year 1984, 50s
Place:
balkan, former yugoslavia, serbia, europe, belgrade serbia ...
Similarity:
37%

Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 101 min.
Story:
Four very different Montreal university teachers gather at a rambling country house to prepare a dinner. Remy (married), Claude (a homosexual), Pierre (involved with a girlfriend) and Alain (a bachelor) discuss sex, the female body and their affairs ...
Style:
witty, talky, humorous, realistic, semi serious ...
Plot:
sex, infidelity, sadomasochism, depression, lgbtq, couple relations, battle of the sexes, love and romance, couples, dishonesty, human nature, radical ...
Time:
80s
Place:
canada, quebec, montreal, california
Similarity:
37%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min.
Story:
After her boyfriend mysteriously leaves her with little explanation, a doctoral candidate in anthropology at a prestigious East Coast university Sara Quinn is left looking for answers as to what went wrong.
Style:
realistic, sentimental, sincere, semi serious, emotional ...
Plot:
self discovery, breakup, lifestyle, obsession, human nature, obsessive quest, couple relations, couples, battle of the sexes, gender, womanizer, father son relationship ...
Time:
year 1978, 21st century
Similarity:
37%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Spain, France, UK
Duration: 101 min.
Story:
After ten years absence Toni, Chris's best friend, suddenly reappears in London to bring chaos and doubt into Chris's calm, tranquil, slightly boring, predictable life. Chris starts to remember his carefree youth as a photographer in Paris ...
Style:
sexual, cult classic, comedy drama, realistic, semi serious ...
Audience:
toddlers
Plot:
male nudity, male pubic hair, friendship, desire, adultery, marriage, bittersweet, coming of age, midlife crisis, drinking, sex, nudity ...
Time:
year 1997, 70s, 20th century, year 1963, year 1977 ...
Place:
england, paris france, london, france, europe
Similarity:
36%
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