Prague consumers buy into filmmakers' hoax in "Czech Dream"

Two thousand strong, they drove, walked and hobbled to the grassy outskirts of Prague, with wallets open and glossy coupon fliers in hand, ready to feed at the bottomless trough of capitalism. Their destination stands like a rainbow-colored monument to super-low prices, free gifts and a consumer paradise of unprecedented abundance.

Like lemmings to a cliff edge they came, some on crutches or canes, eager to embrace the Wal-Mart vision of the future, where all of life's essential goods and services can be found in one convenient megastore. They came to a new "hypermarket" called "Czech Dream," anxious to see their affordable dreams fulfilled.

Just one problem: "Czech Dream" is an illusion. A nonexistent mecca with a phony storefront facade for gullible consumers to gaze at in befuddled wonder, amusement and justified resentment. "Czech Dream" is an elaborate ruse, carried out by a pair of film-school pranksters for their final project. If Vít Klusák and Filip Remunda set out to demonstrate the power of advertising and the packaging of lies, they certainly proved their point.

It's obviously more fun to watch "Czech Dream" than it was to experience the deception firsthand; we're in on the joke, and we can sympathize with those Prague consumers who took the bait and got a big load of nothing for their trouble. We can understand why some laughed while others vented their anger at a pair of wily film students who duped them with a state-funded practical joke.

It's also clear that "Czech Dream" (filmed in 2003) is more immediately relevant to the Czech Republic, where membership in the European Union was similarly pitched as the promise of a booming economy. In the United States, we take hyperbolic advertising for granted, so the film's impact has a kind of "so what?" aftertaste, but the ruse remains guiltily entertaining.

Gussied up like welcoming "Czech Dream" executives, Klusák and Remunda covered all their bases: From phony ad fliers to subway posters, TV spots and an annoying jingle played ad infinitum for curious consumers, their campaign is a marvel of focus-group tomfoolery — and their advertising agents debate the integrity of selling a lie.

If there's any problem with "Czech Dream," it's that it begs for a third-act resolution. The filmmakers pulled their prank, and we understand their multifaceted message to question anything that's been packaged for mass consumption. Look behind the labels, logos and slogans (commercial and especially political) before you buy. But what happens when people won't buy the joke anymore? What happens when they invest in empty promises and demand payback?

Jeff Shannon: j.sh@verizon.net