This wonderful film almost lost me in the opening scene which is devoted to some explicitly athletic sex. Oh dear... just another European skin flick.... Well!!! It turned out to be one of the finest films I've ever seen. The acting is superb, even watching it with subtitles. Even more impressive is the artful photography. Every shot is carefully and creatively composed and staged. The colour, for day and night, summer and winter, sunny and grey, is like that from a master's palette. The superb camera work is enough in itself to make this a memorable movie. Then, near the beginning, there are wonderful scenes of an antique steam train. As a train buff, a war buff and a photography buff, I was close to nirvana. This is a film Hollywood producers should watch to learn how it should be done. I have but one criticism. At over two hours, it runs a little long.

Zelary is yet,another good find at the library for me. I hadn't heard of this film and I was sort of taken in by the unusual title. I watched it over 2 nights because I started the first 1/2 of the film kind of late. Otheriwse,I'd have sat straight through it. While it's true that there are elements in the film that have been used in other World War 2 dramas,that's a very small thing compared to the grandeur of the movie. It's (as mentioned in the DVD extra's) a love story. Two people get married to protect her from the Nazi's,who would have her executed for working against them. Sort of a marriage of convenience. What starts as something she's not looking forward too,blossoms into love between the two. Despite him being almost 30 years older. We see little of the German threat here but we know it exists,along with the threat of a young man wanting his way with her or he'll turn her in. The movie is more about how she truly becomes as one of the of the small village. The villagers are not 2 dimensional as someone mentioned,they are exactly as people were back then in the 1940s and farther back as well. The scenery is breathtaking and real which helps make it look as it did in that era as well. I feel all the actors did a fine job for a film that took 1 year and 2 months to complete. That long because they wanted authentic time and aging to happen,for a better sense of realism. It's nothing ground breaking but it was a very fine film to watch and become fully engrossed in. 9 stars,purely for being a good movie,with good drama and heart,as well as entertainment value. (END}

Anna Geislerova and Gyorgy Cserhalmi give strong performances as the lead male and female actors in this Slovakian love story set in World War II. Their love for each other evolves as the drama of Hana's escape from the Nazis unfolds in a remote farming village.The beauty and simplicity of Hana's surroundings and the gentle strength and caring of Josa gradually seduce her and transform her into a woman who can girlishly enjoy the simple pleasures of life without sacrificing her talents and ambitions as a member of the resistance.Excellent performances by this predominantly Slovakian cast, especially Jaroslav Dusek who shines in a minor supporting role as the teacher.

I once asked a film critic friend of mine how he decided a movie would receive his highest rating. He told me that when a movie is beyond criticism, it is worthy of the highest honor. I feel this way about "Zelary". I saw it in the theater when it first came out and saw it again recently on video. The single element that is most striking about this movie is the cinematography which is vivid and beautiful and kept taking my breath away. And quite honestly, those panoramic shots of Zelary and the surrounding mountains reminded me of where I grew up. There are three performances that are perfect. Anna Geislerova as Eliska/Hana won a couple of international acting awards for this performance and totally deserved them. Her nuanced and subtle transformation from reluctant and slightly belligerent 'refugee' to a loving and sensitive wife was a fine example of measured, well-thought out acting. Gyorgy Cserhalmi as Joza is equally as fine and Jaroslava Adamova as Lucka is one of those characters we can't wait to see again. Highly recommended for beautiful cinematography, fine acting and a great example of cinematic storytelling.