ŽEALARY

Drama based on true facts
In Czech, Russian and German with English subtitles

BACKGROUND
In 1918 the Austro-Hungarian Empire was split up creating a new country with Prague as its capital. The name of the country came from its two major ethnic groups: the seven million Czechs and two million Slovaks. In March 1939, the famous Munich Pact was signed. This appeasement policy of the Western powers granted Germany the right to enter Czechoslovakia. The country remained under Nazi occupation until liberated by Soviet troops in 1944.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Anna Geislerova: Eliska, a Prague city nurse active in the anti-German resistance movement
Gyorgy Cserhalmi: Joza, resident of Želary and a patient in the hospital where she works

REVIEW
More than a war story, the movie is about two people having to make major changes in their life in order to go on living. Their friendship develops at a nice slow pace, allowing us to get to know them and the people they are in contact with. A little long at 2½ hours, it would benefit from tighter editing.

CLASSIFICATION
for some pretty tame violence and very brief partial nudity done in good taste. In my view, totally unwarranted.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
Before turning out the light, Eliska -now known as Hana- carefully places a pair of sharp scissors beneath her pillow. When she awakens in the morning, the scissors are on the night table beside her.
When Hana gets married in the town of Žealry she wears a wedding band on the fourth finger of her left hand. However, in some scenes it is on the middle finger and when picking berries in the forest, it is on her right hand.