Movie Review: Divided We Fall

Story: The subject of the Holocaust has been depicted in countless films. The latest generation of European filmmakers seems to want to throw a warm and fuzzy feel on a very difficult subject. This story of unsung heroes and fake heroes is well done and worth your time. Thirty-three year old Czech director Jan Hrebejk attempts to handle the question of who is guilty and who is innocent during this period in Czech history when you were either a collaborator or a resistance fighter (or at least in the public's eye you were one or the other). But life is always more complicated than the black and white depiction of characters usually presented in a film. Basically a childless couple who try to remain neutral until the war is over, begrudgingly end up harboring a Jewish refugee in their home. The story has several twists and turns but the overriding themes of forgiveness and fate prevail.

Acting: The lead male, Boleslav Polivka is fabulous.

Critters: A wonderful Jack Russell dog and some rabbits.

Food: Lots of pork products, coffee, beer and cabbage.

Visual Art: A painting of the Virgin Mary has a big part.

Blatant Product Placement: None.

Soundtrack: I don't remember - I saw this last week.

Opening Titles: Interesting montage of images to get you into the time period.

Theater Audience: Pretty crowded with a hodge podge of people. There was just one loony who occasionally would yell out something about it being muggy.

Sappy Factor: 4

Squirm Scale: Some disturbing images with animals.

Predictability Level: Medium.

Tissue Usage: 1

Oscar Worthy: Apparently so. It got a nomination.

Nit Picking: The camera was jerky during the war images. This technique worked once or twice but was used too often and became a bit annoying.

Big Screen or Rental: Have a fabulous foreign film rental weekend with the following five films that were nominated at last year's Oscars ceremony. The reviews can be seen in the 2000 Lobo archives. Mexico - AMORES PERROS Taiwan - CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON Czech Republic - DIVIDED WE FALL Belgium - EVERYBODY FAMOUS! France - THE TASTE OF OTHERS

Length: 122 minutes but it seemed much, much longer.

LOBO HOWLS: 8