Divided We Fall

Product Description Earning an Academy Award(r) nomination for Best Foreign Language Film of 2000, DIVIDED WE FALL tells the true and bittersweet story of a Czechoslovakian couple whose village has been taken over by Nazis during World War II. Josef (Boleslav Polívka) and Marie Cizek (Anna Sisková) lead a simple and restricted life in their small apartment while outside the turmoil of war and prejudice is a constant threat. When they decide to hide a young Jewish neighbor in their home (Csongor Kassai), the danger of their situation increases, especially since they have a constant visitor Horst (Jaroslav Dusek), aformer colleague of Josef's and a German sympathizer with eyes for Marie. When she rejects his advances, he seeks revenge by trying to move a Nazi clerk into their home, forcing the couple to tell a lie that will change their lives forever. With an engrossing, historically-charged story and subtle yet stirring performances, DIVIDED WE FALL is a film of depth and humanity that you'll never forget. Amazon.com A daring comedy of ethics, Divided We Fall takes place during World War II in a small, Nazi-occupied town in Czechoslovakia. Josef and Maria, a childless couple, have withdrawn further and further from reality even as the war circles closer to their eerily quiet town. Josef's decision to sleep through a war he doesn't want to acknowledge is soon tested when the Jewish son of his former employer arrives in the middle of the night seeking refuge. David, the sole survivor from his family, escaped from a concentration camp in Poland and managed to return to the only place he knows in search of help. As they harbor David in their pantry over the next three years, Josef and Maria discover the depth of their resolve, forced to play the role of seeming collaborators in order to save themselves and David. Reminiscent more of Yugoslav filmmaker Emir Kustirica's devastating brand of black humor ( Underground, Time of the Gypsies) than the saccharine Life Is Beautiful, to which it has been repeatedly compared, Divided We Fall achieves quite a lot, capturing the pervasive suspicion and betrayal of World War II through the unexpected guise of situation comedy. --Fionn Meade