Czech Dream

My Netflix queue has been catching up with me this winter. Czech Dream is a 2004 documentary on two film students (Vít Klusák and Filip Remunda) scamming Prague into attending the opening of a hypermarket. Inspired by the research that 30% of Czech citizens shop in a hypermarket or big box like Costco and Target, the movie reveals the consumerism unfolding in the post-communist country as a form of freedom. Freedom to choose more than one brand, to have well stocked shelves, or to shop all day with the family.

The behind-the-scenes footage is most valuable when advertising agency (Mark/BBDO) details their process for creating a radio and print campaign with slogans "Don't come" and "Don't spend". A defining moment occurs when a creative meeting erupts due to the debate whether shoppers will return home empty-handed when they discover the façade.