| Divided We Fall | |
|
Directed
by Jan Hrebejk
With: Boleslav Polivka, Csongor Kassai, Jaroslav Dusek, Anna Siskova, Jiri Pecha,
Martin Huba, Simona Stasova, Vladimir Marek, Jiri Kodet, Richard Tesarik
Czech Republic, 2000. 117 min.
Variety
A masterfully balanced comedic drama about the hard choices faced by citizens
of German-occupied Czechoslovakia during the waning days of World War II, "Divided
We Fall" confronts an incendiary topic head-on with grace, style, compassion
and exquisitely practical wit.
Festival
2000
Full of unexpected plot twists and sly ironies, this ingeniously crafted tale
unflinchingly, yet sympathetically, examines the paradoxes of heroism and cowardice.
Inside
Out
HoW refreshing to find a film set in the Second World War that avoids the usual
pitfall of painting characters in black-and-white. Set in a small Czech town
at the end of the war, this warm, humanist comedy-drama looks beneath surface
appearances to reveal that the Czech response to German occupation was rarely
a cut-and-dry affair.
The
Washington Jewish Film Festival
Divided We Fall is a remarkable mixture of comedic and dramatic elements a la
Life Is Beautiful with some of the best production values yet seen in a Czech
film.
