Directors Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos' powerful 1965 Oscar-winning tragicomedy, set during the early days of the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, follows a henpecked carpenter named Tono (Josef Kroner) who takes a job as "Aryan controller," moving in on a deaf elderly Jewish widow's (Ida Kaminska) button shop. Posing as her assistant, Tono begins a comically frustrating and moving relationship with the woman, and is eventually torn between his professional obligations to the Nazi party, and his personal feelings, when the order arrives to deport the Jews. This touching, thought-provoking classic has been given a reasonably good transfer and nicely enhanced subtitles by Criterion, but is otherwise extra-less. Highly recommended. (R. Pitman)
The Shop on Main Street
Criterion, 128 min., in Czech w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.95 Volume 16, Issue 6
The Shop on Main Street
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