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Ivan Barnev and Julia Jentsch star in "I Served the King of England." - Submitted photo

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A fool looks back at his life and sees it as a drama. A wise man looks back and realizes it was a comedy.

Nobody famous has ever actually said that, but it sounds good. And it seems to be the underlying theme in Czech New Wave master Jiri Menzel's marvelous new comedy "I Served the King of England," which encompasses the first half of the 20th century of Czech history.

You wouldn't necessarily think that the country's history, which includes being occupied by the Nazis during World War II and the Communists soon afterward, would be fertile ground for laughs. But the eyes we view the events through belong to a wonderful comic creation, an obsequious and ambitious little waiter named Jan Dite (Ivan Barnev).

We first meet Jan when he's a lowly hot dog vendor on a train platform, but even then he's got a taste for the ruthlessness of getting ahead, timing his orders so that his customers are pulling out of the station before they get their change. From there, he moves from one Prague establishment to another, moving up the social ladder each time, even though in each place he's just the one delivering the dishes. But in his mind, his proximity to millionaire diners means it's only a matter of time before he'll be sitting at the big table himself.

As he whirls around the busy restaurants with huge platters of food, Barnev has the comedic grace of Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin. Menzel plays to Barnev's strengths by creating some terrific whimsical sequences around him, such as a waiter who inadvertently breaks one dish and then goes about methodically smashing every other one in the restaurant.

One recurring image is that of Jan bedding beautiful women and creating works of art on their naked bodies using flower petals or food. It sounds like something out of the "Red Shoe Diaries," but somehow Menzel makes it seem as sweet and innocent as that scene in "City Lights" when Chaplin buys a daisy from the flower girl.

Part of the genius of "King of England" is that Menzel maintains this light tone even when the movie veers into some tough satire and dark historical events. Even though we like Jan, we recognize that he's basically an idiot who values money above all things. Menzel pushes our empathy to the limit during the years leading up to World War II, where Jan finds the love of his life -- who happens to be a Nazi sympathizer.

The entire film is constructed as an extended flashback by an older, wiser Jan (Oldrich Kaiser), who is living as a poor innkeeper in a small Czech town. The carefree idiocy of the younger Jan is viewed through his eyes, so it's a little more forgivable that way. That's especially true when Jan gets his comeuppance in a twist worthy of O. Henry -- when he finally does get to sit with the millionaires in the end.

With its visual splendor and mix of cool satire and warm humanity, "I Served the King of England" is like an endless feast, featuring one spectacular course after another. Somehow, you never get so full that you want to push yourself away from the table.

"I Served the King of England"

Four stars

Stars: Ivan Barnev, Oldrich Kaiser

Rated: R for sexual content and nudity

How long: 1:56

Where: Sundance

For fans of: "City Lights," "Life is Beautiful," big tippers