Divided We Fall

Another entry in that tricky emerging genre of self-important poignant tragicomedies about the Holocaust (Life Is Beautiful, Jakob the Liar, Train of Life), the Oscar-nominated Divided We Fall finds hope and some humor in the shadow of the Nazi jackboot. It takes place in a small Czech town where middle-aged Josef Cizek (Boleslav Polívka) and his young wife Marie (Anna Sisková) decide to harbor a young Jewish former neighbor and concentration camp escapee named David (Csongor Kassai). To avert any possible suspicion of their loyalty, Josef begrudgingly takes a job helping a local Nazi stooge (Jaroslav Dusek) confiscate goods from empty Jewish homes. Billed as a black comedy, the film doesn't strain for laughs or tears, putting it a cut above its genre brethren. But when director Jan Hrebejk isn't busy employing obnoxious and distracting blurry slow-motion visuals, he's stretching thin the uplifting sentimentality, and before long the film begins to drown in its own good intentions. Optional. (R. Blackwelder)