Zelary

Czech Republic / Austria 2003, 141 minutes
Dir. Ondrej Trojan
In Czech, German with English subtitles
Rating: [M]
Genres: Foreign Cinema, Drama / War

Feat. Anna Geislerova, Gyorgy Cserhalmi

Aroview: A layered tale of war and romance set around the 1943 purge of the Czech resistance by the occupying Nazis, and a young nurse's flight to safety.

Bundling herself off to the scenic but extremely backward world of a remote village, she poses as the wife of an illiterate woodsman. Although despairing of the place's casual wife-beating, drunkenness and malign souls, she does find herself gradually drawn to the charms of her host, and he too becomes enamoured of his sophisticated guest... With perfectly poised performances and well-judged direction, this is a cut above the average. Nominated for the 2003 Best Foreign Film Oscar.

NZ International Film Festival 2004