In Czech, the superb "Divided We Fall" is called "Musíme si pomáhat," literally translated as "We Must Help Each Other." The story begins with a series of three short vignettes starting in 1937, and then skipping two years ahead twice until we're in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia in 1941. During these short scenes, we witness the falling fortunes of the Wieners, a well-off Jewish family, who are about to be shipped out to extermination camps in Poland. David Weiner, the son who is in his late 20s, naively believes that his family will be taken care of at Thereseinstadt, the "model" Nazi concentration camp which he later learns is a "transfer station" to the gas chambers.The inciting incident occurs when David turns back up in his old town after escaping from Auschwitz, looking for some kind of shelter and protection. Josef, formerly an employee of the Weiners, finds David hiding at the Weiner family's old villa. Josef tells David he can't stay there as a German family is about to move in there the next morning. Josef brings David back to his home where his wife, Marie, gives David some food, and they try and figure out what to do. David informs Josef that he plans to meet a friend the next morning so Josef drives him to the appointed meeting place in the pouring rain. When the friend fails to show up, Josef just cannot abandon David and drives him back to his home, where he and his wife agree to shelter him in a hidden pantry until the war ends.The tension in the plot comes mainly from the most unusual character, Horst, who worked for the Weiners before the war and reported directly to Josef. Born in Bohemia, Horst is an ethnic German, who is married to a German woman. Horst has a secret crush on Marie, who is the main object of his visits. Horst is a Nazi collaborator who eventually conscripts Josef to work with him in his primary job—confiscating Jewish property from the Jews who are about to be shipped away to Poland. Josef agrees to work with Horst since the job will take away any suspicion that he may be hiding a Jew in his home. The down side is that the neighbors come to believe that Josef is now collaborating with the Nazis."Divided We Fall" is an unusual film as the Holocaust is treated from a comic viewpoint. It's been said that comedy is almost like tragedy, but at the last moment one "looks away." Thus, as Andrew James Horton says in his review of the film, director Hřebejk portrays the German occupation as "relatively peaceful, albeit a tense peace." Tragedy intrudes only directly once when David tells Marie about how his sister was given an opportunity to become a Kapo (Jewish police officer) in the concentration camp, but she was required to beat her parents to death, to obtain such a promotion. The Nazis' cruelty is presented with subtlety—during a raid when they're looking for banned foodstuffs, a Nazi officer shoots a Czech woman's dog; another example is the remark about Dr. Fischer, who sterilized 1,000 Roma (gypsies). Horton sees "Divided We Fall" as a "a ground-breaking film, in that it challenges Czechs, a nation that always likes to think of itself as a passive victim, to consider the actively inglorious aspect of its past." Horst alludes to the fact that he was mistreated as a child before the war, due to the fact he was an ethnic German. And after the war was over, many Czechs didn't want to be reminded there were sinister, bloody reprisals against the ethnic Germans, whom they regarded as collectively guilty. In a brilliant scene toward the end of the film, as Josef runs through the streets seeking help for his wife who is about give birth, the reprisals are underway, including a glimpse of decapitated heads inside a hearse."Divided We Fall" proceeds fitfully in a series of plot reversals that bring the narrative to a dazzling climax. Horst's charge, the commandant Dr. Kepke, falls from grace after his young son deserts from the German army, and Horst must find him another place to live. After being rejected by Marie (after the two go on a car trip to the countryside, where the boorish collaborator attempts to rape her), Horst gets his revenge by insisting that Josef and Marie take in the now depressed Kepke. Marie stymies Horst's plan to have Kepke move in with them by claiming she's pregnant; Josef realizes however, he's just been certified sterile so their only hope is for David to impregnate Marie.Earlier Horst comes to believe that Josef and Marie have been hiding a Jew in their home (after hearing the voices of Marie giving French lessons to David through the drain pipe), and is about to expose David's hiding place, when a German raid begins. So it's Horst who protects the family as a "citizen of the Reich." Nonetheless, after the town is liberated by the Russians, Horst is imprisoned and beaten as a collaborator. In the irony of all ironies in the film, Franta, Josef's neighbor who was going to turn David in when he first appeared in town after his escape, is now part of a citizen's brigade who is responsible for sitting in judgment on all his neighbors during the wartime occupation.The theme of the film's denouement is forgiveness. Josef anoints Horst as the doctor who delivers Marie's baby. Franta, feeling guilty over how he treated David, overlooks Horst's past indiscretions and he is accepted back into the community. And in a classic moment of redemption, Josef holds up the newborn and gazes toward a table where the deceased members of the Wiener family along with Kepke's deserter son, sit. Out of the darkness, there is hope. "Divided We Fall" is a film that must be seen!

I consider this to be my favourite movie of all time, and everyone I've shown it to has absolutely loved it.Director Jan Hřebejk certainly deserves his reputation as a great storyteller. The tale is logically developed right until the end, and I enjoyed the clever subtle moments. The humour and writing in general have a very distinctly Czech flavour: witty and sharp. It makes for a very engaging script.The casting and acting were also excellent. Each actor had the perfect personality for his/her character. Polívka as the slightly goofy but level-headed Josef; Sisková as his wife who wants only the best for everyone no matter what the risk; and Dusek as the pesky but "not quite bad guy" Horst - great performances which complemented each other well.My only (slight) gripe would be the use of jerky camera work during the tense moments, but that is most easily overlooked in such an amazing film.Tears, laughter and a message of hope all in one package. Watch this movie - you really won't regret it, and you may even feel compelled to watch it 5+ times like I have!

There have been many comments written and I don't want to repeat any of it. Czech authors know well how to make a great comedy, and they proved it in 70's. Most of them do not cause loud laughing, it's more a smile inducing type of movies. But going closer to present these movies become rare, and even smile is either vanishing or becoming bitter. I almost don't find any reason to consider this movie a comedy. It's surely not a Czech version of 'La vita e bella'.The reason I send this post is kind of Byblical metaphor present in this movie, and (only) one poster ([email protected]) wrote a good remark about it. There are some more examples I'd like to add.Joseph and Mary, of course, have these names purposely. Mary has a child to save a world, at least their own small world. Joseph in movie is not a father of Mary's child, but she became pregnant with his knowledge and permission. David is the real father of Mary's child in the movie, and according to Bible Jesus is a descendant of king David.Horst isn't Juda. He is more like a Roman soldier (centurion) played so great by Ernest Borgnine in Zefirelli's 'Gesu di Nazaret': he works for occupation army and fights against Jews, but he doesn't know the truth, and in the end (Jesus' death in Bible, child's birth in movie) he understands and starts believing. But there is Juda: it is Frantisek Simácek, the neighbor who tries to betray David to Nazis, but later works for communists and accuses Joseph (and others) for collaboration. He survives being always with the winners changing his attitudes (if having any) the way it's most convenient, profitable and safe. Kepke is Pilatus, once he understands his power is gone he apologizes (washes his hands), but too late to change the evil he's done. It might be going too far, but you can imagine the communist leader to be a kind of Herod, putting in jail or killing all the suspects just to be sure no enemy will escape. Also, he sends three co-workers to see the baby and check Joseph's story, like Herod who sent the Three Kings to find truth about birth of Jesus.And the end scene can also have a religious aspect: in the world that needs hope, Joseph shows a child to surviving, and due to a holy child we can see dead that forgive each other and enable building the world of tolerance and forgiving - the world of love, hope and peace.

In nazi occupied Czechoslovakia, Josef and Marie watch the Jewish family that employs them slowly have their liberties taken from them before eventually be shipped out to a camp. A few years later, David Weiner is the only member of the family left alive and he escapes the camp and returns home. Despite the extreme risks involved, Josef and Marie take him in and let him stay in a hollow cupboard. However with Josef's job with the Nazi's and their friendship with collaborator Horst, detection becomes increasingly likely.A comedy/drama set around the Jewish suffering of World War II? Strangely this concept is no longer an unique one as it has been done several times now, albeit along different lines. Here the film sees a Czech couple hiding a Jewish friend despite the risks involved, the film has a few very comic moments but generally it is rather a bittersweet tale where Josef and Marie have to go to extremes to keep their secret. The thrust of the film is about human nature and, in this regard the film does a reasonable job - although it is a little too subtle and gentle for my tastes.The comedy is at times almost farcical but is mostly gently comic more than anything else. It relies very much on the absurdity of the situation; I did have a problem with the fact that I always find the situation difficult to find amusing in the way the film expects me to. Direction is not much cop here. I have no problem with handheld cameras but in this film it used a sort of blurring effect where it feels like everything is running just a fraction too slow; the reason for this is not clear and it only serves to annoy as an empty stylish gesture.The characters are interesting and the main ones are quite well drawn. Polivka is good as Josef - a character it is difficult not to feel for; he is well supported by Siskova. Kassai's David is not as well used as I would have liked - in fact, marginally less screen time would have turned him into the human equivalent of a noir mcguffin! Dusek has one of the thankless roles but does very well with it - being a bit of a fool but still being human enough to hold sympathy.Overall this is a flawed film but is still worth seeing. It's comedy is occasionally funny but mostly it is just amusing in a bittersweet sort of way. As a more human tale it works quite well - or at least does near the end, you just need to stick with it a bit.