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      Divided We Fall

      PG-13 Released Jun 8, 2001 2 hr. 3 min. Comedy Drama List
      90% 62 Reviews Tomatometer 90% 1,000+ Ratings Audience Score This dramatic story of a hero against his will is set in a small Czech town occupied by German forces during the last years of the Second World War. Josef and Marie are a childless couple who yearn for a baby; unfortunately, he is sterile. One day they meet David, a young Jewish man and former neighbor recently escaped from a concentration camp, to whom they give refuge in their home. Read More Read Less

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      Critics Consensus

      Divided We Fall takes a complex look at World War II, skillfully balancing humor and gravity.

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      Audience Reviews

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      jordan m This was far better than Crouching Tiger for me and I firmly believe it should've won the Best Foreign-Language Oscar for its release year. I didn't catch onto the allegorical aspects of the plot (having been generally unfamiliar with the problems the Czech Republic dealt with in the 90s) but learning about them afterwards improved what was already a very good movie to a near-perfect one in my mind. They had comedy, real sustained suspense and actors who seemed to be putting in maximum effort. Of all the little-seen movies I've watched, this was the most rewarding by a mile! Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Set in Czechoslovakia 1939, Divided we fall is a poignant and surprisingly comic fable about a well-meaning couple who risk their own safety by offering refuge to a young Jewish man during the Nazi occupation. Director Jan Hrebejk and writer Peter Jarchovsky approach a dark aspect of history with a sense of humour and lightness, without ever undermining the gravity of the events at hand. Josef and Marie(Bolek Polivka and Anna Siskova) are an affable Czechoslovak couple. Josef is an unemployed man who hates the Nazis and spends most of his time idling in his own apartment, and Marie is a loving housewife. They are unable to have children but Marie yearns for a child, frequently praying in secret to the Virgin Mary for some immaculate conception. They suffer the impromptu visits of a former employee of Josef's named Horst(Jaroslav Dusek), who now unabashedly works as a Nazi collaborator. Horst pretends to visit on behalf of Josef but it is blatantly obvious to the couple that he has a romantic interest in Marie. When Josef and Marie decide, after much timid consideration, to offer shelter to a young Jewish man named David(Csongor Kassai), they find themselves in a very risky and increasingly absurd situation. This movie is not quite like any other World War II movie you've seen. It has a soft heart and is rich with humanity, but it also boasts a very cutting sense of humour. As the films main antagonist, Horst is far from a figure of one-eyed evil, but is instead presented as foppish figure who seems to just go along with the Nazi collaboration through some imagined notions of the esteem it might bring him. He is far from a likeable character but in general he is perceived as much more idiotic than malicious. Perhaps what director Hrebejk is saying is that men like Horst were merely puppets of a much greater evil. As Josef contemplates at one point: 'You wouldn't believe what abnormal times can do to normal people.' As the movies reluctant hero, Josef, Bolek Polivka is absolutely brilliant. I'd seen Polivka act in another of Hrebejk's movies, ''Cosy Dens'' (a film which remains immensely popularity in the Czech Republic and Slovakia), and he has one of those effortlessly winning screen presences. I've recently learnt that he is also a trained mime artist, which didn't surprise me in the least. Every emotion the character is going through- be it fear, cowardice, or utter bemusement at the situation in which he finds himself- is accurately conveyed by his incredible expressive visage. Anna Siskova is also excellent as his sweet and vulnerable wife, and Csonger Kosser is convincing as the shellshocked and frightened young man. These characters are complex and defy simplistic analysis. The good characters have their moments of regression and the more grotesque characters have their moments of goodness and tenderness. Jaroslav Dusek gives a splendidly comic performance as the movies dandyish villain, simultaneously capturing the character's insecurities and flaws. Dirctor Hrejbek does an excellent job of keeping all the rather absurd events of the story rooted in the commonplace. Take the scene where Josef and Marie show David to his place of refuge. As if fussing over a guest, the willing couple accommodate the fugitive David with his closet-sized hiding-place to be. As Marie initiates David in the secret code for danger(a mouse-like scratch on the door) Josef smirks sardonically. The scene is not played for laughs but is naturally amusing nonetheless. Without ever underestimating the seriousness of the situation or the sense of risk, the characters are always given room to be sarcastic and endearing in a very human way. The story is light and entertaining but is also morally complex. Poor Josef learns that doing the right thing does not necessarily reap many rewards. To keep Horst from sniffing at his doorstep he accepts a job as a collaborator, a decision which besmirches his neighbourhood reputation. One of the most endearing aspects of the story is how Marie forms a sweet, maternal bond with the emaciated and vulnerable David, which, given her inability to have children, adds a real poignancy to the story. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Audience Member This is a layered story with real human characters, living in a time of pervasive fanatical politics. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Brilliant. Czech movies are the best. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Es una historia poco convecional de la segunda guerra mundial que nos muestra a Josef y Marie que harán literalmente hasta lo imposible para poder permanecer con vida en estos duros tiempos que afectaron a todos incluso a ellos que no era judios y se supone no debían temer a los nazis, el fotografía es esplendida y la banda sonora es exquisita, las actuaciones son potentes y el desarrollo de los personajes nos hace creer que los conocemos desde hace mucho tiempo, es una grata sorpresa del cine Checo. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Touching, funny, real. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Critics Reviews

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      Marrit Ingman Austin Chronicle Rated: 3/5 Mar 10, 2003 Full Review Jamie Russell BBC.com Rated: 3/5 May 23, 2002 Full Review Susan Stark Detroit News Rated: 4/4 Dec 8, 2001 Full Review Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com "Divided We Fall" is a vital reminder of the kinds of dramatic choices made by millions of peopled victimized by Nazis and traitors in a war that was fought at all costs. Rated: B May 20, 2009 Full Review Film Threat Rated: 4/5 Dec 6, 2005 Full Review Film Threat Rated: 4/5 Feb 24, 2004 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis This dramatic story of a hero against his will is set in a small Czech town occupied by German forces during the last years of the Second World War. Josef and Marie are a childless couple who yearn for a baby; unfortunately, he is sterile. One day they meet David, a young Jewish man and former neighbor recently escaped from a concentration camp, to whom they give refuge in their home.
      Director
      Jan Hrebejk
      Executive Producer
      Ondrej Trojan
      Screenwriter
      Jan Hrebejk, Petr Jarchovský, Petr Jarchovský
      Distributor
      Sony Pictures Classics
      Rating
      PG-13 (Some Violence|Sexual Content)
      Genre
      Comedy, Drama
      Original Language
      Czech
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Jun 8, 2001, Wide
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Jul 30, 2013
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $1.3M
      Sound Mix
      Dolby SR, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Dolby Stereo
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