Men Without Wings (1946)
Director: František Čáp.
Writers: Bohumil Stepánek.
Stars: Gustav Nezval, Ladislav H. Struna, Jaroslav Zrotal.
Runtime: 79 minutes
Plot: After an attack against the guard of the Third Reich, Nazi repression intensifies, and the Czechoslovakian resistance's organized sabotage in an aircraft factory leads to Gestapo shootings. Now, factory worker Petr Lom (Gustav Nezval) must make a choice: Is he prepared to sacrifice his life to save his co-workers?.
Review: A particularly gripping picture, the Czech movie " Muži bez křídel" (Men without wings) is a touching depiction of the Nazi occupation in the then Czechoslovakia (now, Czech Republic). It is a riveting account of the conflicts between local resistances with the Third Reich. The hero of the story with action elements are members of resistance groups who are working in an extremely exposed position at Ruzyne airport. Against them stands a German airport management, informer and very active maintenance manager Ullmann and the resistance's organized sabotage in the factory leads to the Gestapo shootings.
Directed by Frantisek Cap, this tense Czechoslovakian drama won the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. It was one of the five films to feature on the big screen on the Nazi occupation theme from the first year of the nationalization of the Czech film industry and clearly the most popular and successful one given its accolade. A WWII classic coming from a seemingly low key country with a very restricted film industry at the time, it is a fantastic film to watch portraying the endless possibilities of human endeavour.
Reviewed by Mohaiminul Islam
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