Czechoslovakia, 1963. Petr begins his first job as a security guard in a supermarket; he’s so shy that he can’t bring himself to confront shoplifters. He’s similarly tongue-tied around the lovely Asa, and during the lectures about the dignity of labor that his father regularly delivers at home.

Forman’s transgressive debut fiction feature offers a funny, imaginative look at youthful malaise and generational conflict. Chosen to play in the official competition at the 1964 Locarno Film Festival, where it won the grand prize, Black Peter powerfully captures a society on the brink of change.