DIVIDED WE FALL ---------------
Josef Cizek (Boleslav Polivka) is saddened when the Jewish Weiner family, who provided employment to his Czech town, are ejected from their homes by the Nazis and sent to a camp. Josef must also endure visits from Horst Prohazka (Jaroslav Dusek), a German he befriended and employed before the war who obviously has romantic inclinations towards Josef's wife Marie (Anna Siskova). When David Weiner escapes and returns to his hometown, the Cizeks hide him in their storeroom and try to keep Horst off guard in the 2000 Best Foreign Language Film nominee "Divided We Fall."
Roberto Benigni started a trend with "Life Is Beautiful." While "Divided We Fall" doesn't provide as many laughs as the Benigni film, it's more comical than tragic and lays on the sentiment with a more cynical touch. Director Jan Hrebejk has crafted a humanistic story about 'what abnormal times can do to normal people.'
Everyone in their town knows that Josef and Marie are childless through no choice of their own. The onset of WWII and the dissolution of the Weiner factory has made Josef content to eat, smoke and lay on his couch while Marie busies herself dusting the tapestry of her namesake, the Virgin Mother, which hangs above it.
Horst, sporting a Hitler-like moustache, brings forbidden delicacies to his former boss and his pretty wife. Josef had befriended Horst when his fellow Czechs didn't exactly welcome the German, and now that the tide has turned in Horst's favor, must endure his prodding to come and join him working for the SS Officer (Vladimir Marek) who's taken over the Weiner villa.
When David Weiner (Csongor Kassai) becomes their hidden secret, Josef and Marie must play increasingly dangerous games to keep Horst's suspicions at bay, until, at last, Marie concocts a false pregnancy which the sterile Josef insists she make real with the assistance of David.
While Hrebejk's biblical references and baby making slapstick become somewhat labored, his gentle comedy nonetheless stands true to his title, where no man is condemned merely by the side history doles out for him. Hrebejk is particularly blessed by a stellar performance from Dusek, whose initially coarse Horst is redeemed by the subtle complexities the actor brings to the man.
B-
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