Milos Forman

Milos Forman behind the camera.

"Who doesn't have sympathy for the underdog? Of course I do. We create institutions, governments and schools to help us live, but every institution has a tendency, after a while, to behave not as if they should be serving you, but that you should be serving them... Instead of underdogs, let's talk about dogs. If you corner a dog, he's ready to bite you. That's the reality. Otherwise he's a loveable, wonderful creature. If you corner him, he can behave abominably. And so does a human being. When an individual is cornered by society or an institution, well, he can behave abominably and I can't really hide it or glorify it. Neither. It's just a fact of life." - Milos Forman

I've wanted to devote a post to Milos Forman for quite a while. A filmmaker and director from Czechoslovakia, Milos' works explore themes of freedom, suppression, self-exploration, and conformity. His films are the expression of an individual whose early life was spent living in totalitarian societies.

Originally named Jan Tomáš Forman, Milos (pronounced mee-losh) was born on February 18th 1932 in Aslav, Czechoslovakia. Milos' parents introduced him to western films from a young age; his favorites were John Ford westerns and the Disney classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Rudolf, his father who was Jewish professor of education, and Ann Svabova, his Protestant mother, both died in concentration camps during WWII when Milos was nine years old. He was raised by relatives during the rest of his childhood and adolescence.

In his early teens, Milos insulted the son of a prominent Communist party member. The incident was put on his record, and resulted in affecting his entire life. Because of his marred record, Milos was only accepted to one university: the Prague Film Academy.

During his time at school, Milos studied film direction and revived his love of movies. In the early 60s, after a long apprenticeship, Milos was finally selected to direct several films. These included several internationally acclaimed films in which he developed his own unique sense of comedy. These include Audition and Loves of a Blonde. In 1968, after the release of the film The Fireman's Ball, Milos was accused by the Communist party of mocking "the common man," and fled the country in order to seek safety in the United States.

During the last several decades, Milos Forman has continued his film career in the United States, where he has created some of his best work. His 1975 adaptation of Ken Kesey's book One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest won five Oscars. Other subsequent films that have received high praise from film critics include Hair, Amadeus, The People vs. Larry Flint, Man on the Moon, and Goya's Ghost.

The rock opera Hair was directed by Milos after he had firmly established
himself in Hollywood with his adaptation of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

All of Milos Forman's films are unique, but they have common themes. Many follow characters who are at odds with society. His stories about these characters eventually reveal a truth of humanity by contrasting them against those who have given in to societal principles. Eventually, these characters become an inspiration to those who have been worn down by the institutional pressures around them, and their societies come into question. Many of Milos' movies are likely to have been directly influenced by his time living under totalitarian regimes:

"It's funny to realize, but in my relatively short life I have lived through six or seven different social and cultural systems. First the Democratic Republic of Czechoslovakia, then the limited democracy before World War II, then the Nazi regime. After the Nazi regime there was a kind of democracy again for three years, then came the Stalinist regime, then the reformed Communist regime, and now I am living in a free country."

Through his art, Milos explores the feelings and psychological effects that living in totalitarian societies. Though he eventually had to leave his home because of his work, he continued to explore the emotional and sociological consequences of repressing individual freedom. Here's a quick synopsis of one of Milos Forman's films that I've seen which are critical of conformist, controlling societies (there are spoilers):

 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975): 

"You're no crazier than the average asshole out walkin' around on the streets and that's it."
- R.P. McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

This film follows R.P. McMurphy, a man who was jailed for having sex with a girl who was "fifteen years old, going on thirty five... and she told [him] she was eighteen." Once in jail, he agreed to be transferred for his remaining sentence because he thought it would be easier completed in a psychiatric facility than in prison. When he gets there and is asked what he perceives his problem to be, McMurphy answers, "Well, as near as I can figure out, it's 'cause I fight and fuck too much."


Once in the facility, R.P. McMurphy's coarse and outspoken personality shocks the staff and the patients. He soon makes an enemy of the head nurse, Ms. Ratchet, who is highly adept at manipulating those around her to maintain order in the facility. While she tries to keep control, R.P. McMurphy is constantly undermining her efforts: disregarding the schedule, refusing to take his pills, questioning that he or many of the other patients are crazy, denying that rules the nurses insist the patients adhere to, and planning an escape to Canada. In one scene, he tries to lift up a water fountain to throw through a window, but it's too heavy.


With McMurphy refusing to alter himself to fit the expectations of the facility, the other patients begin to wake up and question their surroundings as well. Chief Bromden, a Native American patient who has been pretending to be deaf and dumb during his time at the facility, becomes particularly close to McMurphy when he confides in him his ability to hear and speak, and tells him about his drunk father. McMurphy suggests to the gigantic man that they should break out:

McMurphy: I can't take it no more. I gotta get outta here.
Chief Bromden: I can't. I just can't.
McMurphy: It's easier than you think, Chief.
Chief Bromden: For you, maybe. You're a lot bigger than me.

Eventually almost all of the other men come to look up to McMurphy, and the group causes widespread disruption in Nurse Ratchet's schedule and rules. When she pushes back, causing one young inmate to commit suicide, McMurphy loses his cool and instead of escaping through an open window like he originally planned, he attempts to strangle her. He is taken away by the psychiatrists.


In the next scene, McMurphy is returned to his bed by the nurses while the other patients are sleeping. Chief Bromden quietly goes to his side, and tells him he is finally ready to attempt an escape.

Chief Bromden: Mac... they said you escaped. I knew you wouldn't leave without me. I was waiting for you. Now we can make it, Mac; I feel big as a damn mountain.
[he suddenly sees the lobotomy scars]
Chief Bromden: Oh, no...
Chief Bromden: [embracing McMurphy] I'm not goin' without you, Mac. I wouldn't leave you this way... You're coming with me.
Chief Bromden: [laying him down] Let's go.

Chief Bromden then places a pillow over McMurphys face and waits until he's still. In an act of sheer strength he picks up the same water fountain from the earlier scene and throws it at the window. He escapes through the broken glass. The last scene shows him running across a field as dawn breaks.

This film explores themes of how "outsiders" in our society are treated. Those who act strangely or see the world differently can be declared mentally unsound, and can be forced to enter psychiatric facilities against their will. The arbitrary classification of these individuals is a metaphor for how many outsiders are grouped together and controlled "for the good of society." Milos Forman's film shows the inhumanity of treating these people as threats by showing them as they are: fellow human beings, free of some of the influences society insists we are subjected to.

"If you lived, as I did, several years under Nazi totalitarianism, and then 20 years in communist
totalitarianism, you would certainly realize how precious freedom is, and how easy it is to lose." - Milos Forman