The film is an evocation of the childhood memories of Bohumil Hrabal in his provincial town of Nymburk, dominated by the local brewery. The main actors of the film, uncle Pepin and Maryška, are based on real family members of Hrabal: Maryška on his mother and uncle Pepin on his real uncle, who came to stay two weeks in the town but remained for forty years. His spontaneous stories influenced a lot of Hrabal's literary work.[2]
According to the film critic and historian Peter Hames, Cutting It Short, which frequently quotes or refers to silent comedy, is one of the best post-Tati comedies.[2]
