Protektor

The central figures in this uneven but stylish and sporadically moving film—set in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia between 1938 and 1942—are married couple Emil (Marek Daniel) and Hana (Jana Plodková). Emil is a second-string reporter for the national radio station, while Hana is a glamorous, up-and-coming cinema star. But she's also Jewish, and after the Anschluss her career screeches to a halt, while he's chosen to serve as the station's “local” voice, replacing an outspoken colleague. Over the years, Emil turns into a celebrity—despite accusations of collaboration—and enjoys some extramarital romance. Meanwhile, Hana—although protected from the worst treatment accorded Jews because of her husband's position—grows increasingly enraged by her loss of fame and subsequent isolation in their apartment, and she eventually takes up with a movie projectionist. Marek Najbrt's portrait of people trying to survive under a brutal regime has a studied feel, but the depiction of Emil and Hana's deteriorating relationship has considerable power, and the film is beautiful to watch, thanks to Miloslav Holman's glossy cinematography. Recommended. (F. Swietek)