Divided We Fall
| Video Review
|
 |
| Title: |
Divided We Fall |
| Publisher: |
Sony Pictures Classics,
Culver City, CA |
| Format:
|
DVD |
| Rated:
|
PG-13 |
| Reviewed By: |
Frank Fogg |
| Review Date: |
June, 2003 |
| Rating: |
|
Divided We Fall tells the story of
a village in Czechoslovakia during World War Two. This is a DVD feature mostly
in Czech with some German dialogs and English subtitles.
Childless
Marie and Josef live in a small apartment during the war. Josef is disabled
due to an accident at work and they rely on the gifts and goodwill of a Nazi
sympathizer that brings them small presents of coffee, soap and sausages. They
realize that Horst only comes to see them because of Marie's beauty, but they
can not turn him away for fear of the Nazi government.
One day, their former Jewish neighbor returns after escaping from a death camp.
Feeling pity for him, they decide to hide them in a secret room in their house.
What follows is two years of fear and close calls as "David" is almost
discovered on several occasions.
This movie does have some funny scenes, but it is mostly a serious portrayal
of life on the "Eastern Front" for those countries that were occupied
by the Nazis and stripped of their Jewish populations. It dramatizes the heroic
few that hid or assisted Jews in violation of the Nazi occupation at substantial
risk of their own lives. The ending is far from predictable and the plot does
have some very strange twists. Although there is some violent content and adult
dialog, the movie is pretty tame by American standards, and acceptable for early
teenage viewers and older.
