Lack of good storyline.

Just perfect...

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Set during World War II in Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia, a young man in Prague shelters a Jewish girl, knowing that in trying to save her life he is putting the lives of all those around him in grave danger. Events are complicated further with the assassination of Reinhardt Heydrich the top Nazi leader who ruled over Czechoslovakia with an iron fist. His killing leads to brutal reprisals by the Nazi authorities meaning that Jews and those who shelter them find themselves under even greater scrutiny and peril.I was surprised to learn after watching this one that it was made some time before the Czech New Wave began. It is clearly a very forward-looking and bold film for its time. Completely convincing and realistic at all times, it is in essence a doomed love story with the backdrop of the European Holocaust hovering darkly always in the background. As such it is quite a depressing story but to tell it any other way would be to ignore the horror of the facts of the time. Despite the historic events involving the Heydrich assassination, the approach taken to the narrative is a highly personal one, with the events rarely going beyond the apartment block in which the characters live. Acting is strong across the board, with Daniela Smutná as the girl and Ivan Mistrík as the boy who tries to help her, both especially good. This is a strong film in many ways and one of the chief ones being that you understand why everyone acts the way they do, even if certain characters act despicably. But fear and oppression has a way of bringing out the bad in many of us, but also the good in some too. This highly impressive war drama should be more widely seen.

Talking to a DVD seller (who is also a fan of Czech cinema) I found out that UK DVD company Second Run had put out a Czech title set during the German occupation of the country. Gathering up Czech movies to view,I decided that it was time to take a glimpse at a Czech take on Romeo and Juliet.The plot-WWII:Just before the family are taken to a death camp by the occupying Nazis,Hanka escapes from the transportation and goes to hide in an empty attic inside an apartment block.Finding Hanka in the attic, Pavel decides to do everything he can to keep Hanka safe.As Hanka and Pavel start to have feelings for each other,Pavel's family begin to fear about what will happen if they are caught with Hanka,as Nazi death squads start going round killing "betrayers" who have been secretly housing Jewish citizens.View on the film:Whilst there are some large spots of dirt,Second Run still deliver a good transfer,with the whispered dialogue being crisp and the look of fear on Pavel & Hanka's faces being clear to see.Taking all of the life out of the country,co-writer/(along with Jan Otcenásek) director Jirí Weiss & cinematographer Václav Hanus show the war-torn streets of Prague in their starkest form,as lone footsteps walk down the eerily empty streets,whose silence is broken from the gunfire of Nazi death squads.Hiding in the attic,Wesiss strikes a superb contrast between night and day,with the attic being filled with shadows which allow the romance to grow in the darkness.Keeping a close watch every time he steps out of the attic,Weiss and Hanus give Pavel's daylight scenes a brittle quality which is lit up by an atmosphere bubbling with dread over fears of Hanka being discovered.Leaving the country himself as a Jewish refugee for the US during WWII,Weiss and co-writer Jan Otcenásek open the Occupied Czech of Otcenásek's novel in a strikingly fearful manner,by making anyone who Pavel can put his trust in be willing to become an informant or turn complacent on the horrors destroying the country. Taking loose inspiration from Shakespeare,the writers avoid teen hormones for something more touchingly poetic,that allows for the excellent dialogue to build a psychological depth to the love that Pavel and Hanka have for each other,and the sounds of war surrounding their attic.Appearing in the first of just 7 films,the alluring Daniela Smutná gives an incredible performance as Hanka,thanks to Smutná opening Hanka's feelings in an extremely expressive manner which perfectly capturing the lowing of Hanka's guard,as she starts to fall for Pavel.Joined by a wonderfully brisk Jirina Sejbalová as his mum, Ivan Mistrík gives a fantastic performance as Pavel.Hitting every note of sincerity with an expert eye, Mistrík gives Pavel a hard edge of determination in keeping Hanka alive,as Romeo and Juliet go into darkness.

Jiri Weiss's 1960 film Romeo, Juliet and Darkness is a wholly convincing, tightly controlled account of the human costs of despotism. The story takes place against the background of the Nazi occupation of Prague, and more specifically the horrible repercussions visited upon the population after the assassination of Heydrich, the leading Nazi in Czechoslovakia. A young man, in his final year at school, takes in and shelters in the attic of his mother's house a Jewish girl of the same age, going to great pains both to conceal her presence and to find food for her. Weiss's direction is superb, with particularly good establishment of the atmosphere of the flats where most of the action occurs. Watching the move now, one almost feels one is present in the Prague of 1942, the movie being particularly effective at showing how routine life goes on under even the most harsh of political circumstances. The two young actors in the lead roles both give excellent and very moving performances. There are also a range of vividly-drawn characters in the background. At least two things make the film noteworthy, looking at it from today's perspective. First, the film is almost wholly free of any propagandistic elements, presumably quite an achievement given the time and place of its production. The film, with its emphasis on a humanistic depiction on the trials of ordinary people, points towards the Czech New Wave films which would appear five or six years later. Second, Weiss's direction is such that the film is simultaneously vivid and yet understated, the relative absence of histrionics making it all the more absorbing. The denouement is very powerful indeed, making the film (available on DVD in the UK) one that is very worthwhile seeking out. I bought the DVD not knowing what to expect; I ended up watching a masterpiece.

A love story, wartime thriller, and social commentary set during the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia. Artfully shot in black and white, and undergirded by a strong musical track, it explores the risks of sheltering a Jewish fugitive whose a life might be saved (or might not), but where the lives of many bystanders are thereby put in peril.Fritz Lang's earlier US-made "Hangmen Also Die" dealt with the same historical event (the assassination of occupation head Gen. Heydrich), but his was a more kinetic and extroverted treatment compared to Weiss' more personal, introspective, and poetic view. In a sense, this is the Anne Frank story moved from Amsterdam to Prague.