Musíme si pomáhat (2000)

Director:

Jan Hrebejk

Writers:

Jan Hrebejk (writer)
Petr Jarchovský (screenplay)

Release Date:

16 March 2000 (Czech Republic)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | War

Tagline:

In a war-torn village, one couple makes the ultimate sacrifice to save another.

Plot:

In Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia, a childless couple agree to hide a Jewish friend at great personal risk of discovery and execution.

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | Jewish | Czechoslovakia | Collaborator | Holocaust

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 15 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Bolek Polívka	...	Josef Cízek
Anna Sisková	...	Marie Cizková
Csongor Kassai	...	David Wiener
Jaroslav Dusek	...	Horst Prohaska
Martin Huba	...	Dr. Albrecht Kepke
Jirí Pecha	...	Frantisek Simácek
Simona Stasová	...	Libuse Simácková
Vladimir Marek	...	SS Officer (as Vladimír Marek)
Richard Tesarík	...	Captain
Karel Hermánek	...	Captain
Otto Sevcík	...	SS Offcier
Jirí Kodet	...	Dr. Fischer-Rybáf
Petr Knotek
Helena Neuwirthová
Nelly Kocarjan

Also Known As:

Divided We Fall (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violence and sexual content.

Runtime:

120 min | Argentina:122 min | Canada:123 min | Germany:123 min | UK:122 min | USA:117 min

Country:

Czech Republic

Language:

German | Czech

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:TE | Czech Republic:U | Germany:6 | Singapore:PG | UK:PG | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Jaromer, Czech Republic

Company:

Ceská Televize

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Holiday (2006)

Just incredible...

Just saw this on BBC4 - extraordinary - it's the kind of achievement American (and British) screenwriters should practice for years to emulate. Robert McKee, see this film!

The writing, directing and acting are all superb, and in the service of a supremely human story beautifully constructed around timeless epic themes of man's inhumanity to man, war, and all the other big stuff. To separate these from the movie itself, though, would be to do it a great disservice.

The mix of laugh-out-loud humour, gripping thriller, and finally a well-earned and unsentimental tear-jerker of a last 15 minutes is the zenith of a movie-watching experience. "Divided We Fall" is very funny from the outset, but it doesn't take long for the filmmakers to skilfully tighten the knot with sudden character twists and brilliant writing early on. Once we're immersed in 1943 Czechoslovakia, we're not only rooting for the lead character Cizek, played immaculately by Bolek Polivka - a winning combination of contemporary earthy Brit character actor Philip Jackson and 20th century comedy genius Alistair Sim - we're feeling like we're there with him.

He and the ensemble cast play every beat of the story just right (there's even one moment midway through where the audience are maybe allowed to get a bit too far ahead of Polivka's character, but it's remedied by the performances). The visual flourishes, especially the effects of switching between film speeds and using a DV tape look, all enhance the narrative without intruding into it, and thus heighten the tension at unexpected moments. The costume and make-up designs bring the human stories to warm life; and set against war-torn 1940s backdrops, the production design could hardly go wrong.

A great treatment of a much depicted time and narrative that manages to make events feel fresh, real, scary, funny, dramatic, ultimately hugely moving...somehow many more people should get a chance, and be urged, to see this film.