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)
Divided We Fall
Columbia TriStar, 122 min., in Czech w/English subtitles, PG-13, VHS: $98.99, DVD: $29.95, Nov. 27 Volume 16, Issue 6
Divided We Fall
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