Zelary, a Czech film
Christine February 26th, 2007
Zelary is a Czech film produced in 2003 — a gem in its genre. Set in the latter months of the Third Reich when the Gestapo was in every corner of eastern Europe hauling people in for questioning, times were tense. A nurse and medical student, Eliska, who is also part of the Czech resistance movement, leads a dangerous, yet fulfilling life in the city. When the resistance group Eliska belongs to is discovered by the Gestapo, she’s forced to seek refuge with Joza, leaving her urban life behind and starting anew in the remote mountains.
Joza was Eliska’s patient in the hospital. When he was brought in with severe injuries sustained in a lumber yard accident, hauled in on a wagon from a secluded village in the mountains. He badly needs a blood transfusion during surgery, which Eliska volunteers to give. Later, she learns that Joza has agreed to become her protector but the only way he can safely do that is to marry her. Very reluctantly Eliska weds this man who is all but a stranger to her and they settle down to a fairly quiet life in his native mountains. The story is a very sweet portrait of how the couple grows into the relationship, initially based on fear of discovery by the Germans; a strong bond between them is formed as they begin to learn to live together within a poor, tiny community of rural Czechoslovakia. The sweeping photography is stunning. The director utilized deeply saturated colors in this film to enhance the mood of changing seasons; emphasizing the powerful influence which the land and weather have on all their lives. Some sequences are very exciting. There is a small amount of violence.
Director Ondrej Trojan and starring Anna Geislerova.
2004 Academy Award®: Best Foreign Language Film nominee 
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