Review of Divided We Fall

Introduction

Josef (Boleslav Polivka) and his wife Marie (Anna Siskova) are trying to get on with their lives in Nazi occuppied Czechoslovakia around 1941 when an old Jewish friend, David (Csongor Kassai), pops up having escaped from a Polish camp. He has no where to run and his only friend reluctantly decides to take him in under the cover of darkness. David is to remain in the pantry and has to stay out of sight at all times. This is dangerous for Josef and Marie, harbouring a Jew can lead to their execution.

It doesn`t get any easier when another friend of theirs, Horst (Jaroslav Dusek), who`s very much aligned with the Nazi`s turns up frequently at their house. His interest in Josef`s wife Marie being a little unnerving to boot. Under his very nose is a Jew. Here the struggle for Josef, Marie and David`s secrecy and survival is great.

Video

Presented with a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer, Divided We Fall simply looks gorgeous! Visually stimulating with the lush Czech countryside, the colours are vibrant and fresh. Detail, colour and contrast are well balanced for the most part. Some scenes appear slightly overexposed though and it`s hard to tell if this was the intention. There`s minor print damage and very minor amounts of dirt.

Audio

Czech Dolby Digital 2.0 is the order of the day and the sound suits the film well. It`s not an action fest and what`s here works very well. The dialogue is always clear with a good dynamic range. Anyway, a lot of us might be reading subtitles anyway!

Features

Just a trailer to go with the English subtitles. The subtitles work well. Would have been good to see cast bios or an interview with the writer, director or cast. How about trailers for other Metrodome films? Within the clear Amaray case you can see the reverse of the sleeve with other Metrodome titles.

Conclusion

I started out liking this film and its quirky characters, but by the end of it my expectations lowered. It does start well and you quickly get a grip on some of the characters, but the annoying thing for me was the jumping timeline. At least twice in the movie I had to gather that considerable time had passed by way of dialogue. My mind was still following the story in a very linear way, and it then jumped. For example, it can be difficult to reconcile lost time without any real change in the characters appearances or motivations. Apart from this niggle the film remained enjoyable.

The story about hiding a Jew in a Nazi occupied region might not be new, but I think it`s done well here. There is a genuine sense of fear and mistrust. Horst, the Nazi collaborator and frequent unwelcome guest at Josef`s house is unlikeable, as he should be, while Josef and Marie have to put up with him for fear of getting him offside. There are some good comic touches here too that arise from almost getting caught, the tension almost palpable. The way the story weaves to the end and the end of the Nazi occupation is good without being overly contrived.

I think DVD has made world cinema far more accessible than VHS ever could and because of this I can be thankful for many films, Divided We Fall included. This makes a welcome change from a lot of the spoon fed Hollywood stuff and it`s interesting to see films that might otherwise lie in obscurity.

This package has just a trailer and it`s a shame there`s no any further information on the cast and crew. The region 1 disc from Columbia/TriStar has cast and crew information, a Czech 5.1 Dolby Digital track and a trailer for Anne Frank Remembered. I don`t think it`s as great a film as some may have you believe despite the films 2001 Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Film (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon won this award that year). But I definitely think it`s worth a rental at least.