Obchod na korze (1965)

Directors:

Ján Kadár
Elmar Klos

Writers:

Ladislav Grosman (screenplay)
Ladislav Grosman (story)

Release Date:

24 January 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

Slovakia during WW2. Tono lives a poor life, but the authorities offer him a take over the Jewish widow Lautman's little shop for sewing material...

Plot Keywords:

Jewish | Slovakia | Sabbath | Billiards | Takeover

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Ida Kaminska	...	Rozalie Lautmann
Jozef Króner	...	Antonin Brtko
Hana Slivková	...	Evelyna Brtková
Martin Hollý	...	Imro Kuchar
Adám Matejka	...	Piti Báci
Frantisek Zvarík	...	Marcus Kolkotsky
Mikulas Ladizinsky	...	Marian Peter
Martin Gregor	...	Jozef Katz, barber
Alojz Kramar	...	Balko, the bandmaster
Gita Misurová	...	Andoricová
Frantisek Papp	...	Andoric
Helena Zvaríková	...	Rose Kolkotsky
Tibor Vadas	...	Tobacconist
Eugen Senaj	...	Blau, the Jewish relief treasurer
Luise Grossová	...	Eliasova, Danko's mother

Also Known As:

A Shop on the High Street (UK) (literal English title)
The Shop on Main Street (USA)

Runtime:

128 min | USA:125 min (2001 Criterion release)

Country:

Czechoslovakia

Language:

Slovak | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:11

Filming Locations:

Sabinov, Slovakia

Company:

Filmové Studio Barrandov

Trivia:

This movie was shot exclusively in the small Slovak city of Sabinov.

Quotes:

Antonin Brtko: I'm your Aryan and you're my Jewess . . . understand?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Fejezetek a film történetéböl: A cseh új hullám (#1.16)" (1990)

Film brilliantly combines comedy and tragedy in tale of moralresponsibility.

This movie is one of my all-time favorites. It depicts a lazy, self-interested "everyman" caught up in a personal struggle of good and evil. The directors/writers question the moral responsibility of genocide, as smalltown Czechs under Nazi domination respond to their Jewish neighbors. Jews are no longer allowed to own shops, so their businesses' control and ultimate ownership is turned over to Christians -- namely, Nazi sympathizers. One such Christian, brother-in-law of a high-ranking official, is given a button shop, owned by a deaf, elderly Jewish woman, who is not even aware that there is a war going on. Due to her deafness, she has the innocence of a child. The Christian overseer finds that the shop makes no money whatsover, but also learns that the Jewish community supports the old woman and will pay him a salary to watch over her. What develops is a platonic love story between the two, hilariously funny due to the old woman's inability to comprehend the impending doom around her, and her assistant's struggle to shield her from harm while concerned with self-preservation. The movie works on numerous levels -- as a love story, including dreamlike fantasy elements of a bygone world where Nazi horrors don't exist; and as a tale of ultimate moral responsibility. It is a story of basically good people, who say nothing, see nothing, hear nothing, and do nothing when genocide threatens their neighbors, and who thus enable genocide to occur. The brilliant combination of hysterically funny scenes set against a background of impending mass murder brings this film to a life that is lacking in most humorless holocaust-oriented films. The laughter through tears produces an ultimate impact that is emotionally devastating. This film justly received an Oscar for Best Foreign Film when it was released. It was produced during a brief high point of the Czech film industry, prior to Russia's reconquering of the country and squelching any artistic freedom. All the performers are exceptional, particularly the two leads. (After the Russian takeover, actress Ida Kaminski emigrated to New York and attempted to revive the Yiddish Theatre.)