Dark Blue World
(2001)
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Dark Blue World
(2001)
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| Watch Trailer 0Share... |
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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Ondrej Vetchý | ... |
Frantisek Sláma
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Krystof Hádek | ... |
Karel Vojtisek
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| Tara Fitzgerald | ... |
Susan Whitmore
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| Charles Dance | ... |
Wing Commander Bentley
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Oldrich Kaiser | ... |
Jan Machatý
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David Novotný | ... |
Bedrich Mrtvý
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Linda Rybová | ... |
Hanicka Pecharova
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Jaromír Dulava | ... |
Railwayman Kanka
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Lukás Kantor | ... |
Tom Tom
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Radim Fiala | ... |
Jura Sysel
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Juraj Bernáth | ... |
Jan Gregora
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Miroslav Táborský | ... |
Vilha Houf
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Hans-Jörg Assmann | ... |
Doctor Blaschke
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| Thure Riefenstein | ... |
German Officer Hesse
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| Anna Massey | ... |
English Teacher
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March 15, 1939: Germany invades Czechoslovakia. Czech pilots flee to England, joining the RAF. After the war, back home, they are put in labor camps, suspected of anti-Communist ideas. This film cuts between a post-war camp where Franta is a prisoner and England during the war, where Franta is like a big brother to Karel, a very young pilot. On maneuvers, Karel crash lands by the rural home of Susan, an English woman whose husband is MIA. She spends one night with Karel, and he thinks he's found the love of his life. It's complicated by Susan's attraction to Franta. How will the three handle innocence, Eros, friendship, and the heat of battle? When war ends, what then? Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>
I've been a devoted IMDB visitor for a few years. This is the movie that finally compelled me to write in a review.
I caught this movie by chance (the opening credits happened to be scrolling past when I turned my TV on one morning). I thoroughly enjoyed the film for many reasons, all of which have been well covered by other reviewers -- the moodiness, the forgotten history of the Czech pilots, the subtle charm of the supporting characters, the fatalism of the main characters, and the first person view during the battle scenes.
But the element of "Dark Blue World" that really stood out was the lack of dramatic effects, especially during combat (and this is a good thing!). While the pilots were flying in battle no musical score accompanied them, no manipulative shots of worried spouses/girlfriends were interwoven, every little aerial maneuver did not elicit trite patriotic cheers, and viewers weren't asked to swallow unbelievable James Bond-esque pilot heroics. Instead the audience is allowed to feel the melancholy, fear and isolation of these single pilot fighters while they try to stay aloft during combat. As comrades are shot down we are spared tearful howls and the typical (but audience pleasing) revenge based heroics. Instead the other pilots sadly and quietly observe their fellow pilot's fate -- in reality they still need to remain intensely focused on their own safety and objectives at that very moment. We only briefly experience the pilot's breathing and the background roar of the engines as we, the audience, witness a friend spiral quietly down to his death. And then immediately 'we' need to jump back into combat mode and focus on survival.
Too often in Hollywood we're spoon-fed the emotions we're supposed to feel and no room is left for the viewer's imagination. "Dark Blue World" maintains a sparseness that captivates and involves the viewer, allowing us to invest in the movie and fill in the gaps and spaces using our own thoughts and feelings.
Excellent film, well worth seeing.