The Shop on Main Street
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| - | In the 1960s, a number of Central European films that dealt with the Holocaust either directly or indirectly had critical successes internationally. In 1966, the Slovak-language Holocaust drama ''[[The Shop on Main Street]]'' (''Obchod na korze'', Czechoslovakia, 1965) by Ján Kadár and Elmer Klos won a special mention at the Cannes Film Festival in 1965 and the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film the following year. | + | '''''The Shop on Main Street''''' ([[Czech language|Czech]]/[[Slovak language|Slovak]]: '''''Obchod na korze'''''; in the UK '''''The Shop on the High Street''''') is a 1965 [[Czechoslovakia|Czechoslovak]] film about the [[Aryanization (Nazism)|Aryanization]] programme during [[World War II]] in the [[Slovak State]]. |
| - | While some of these films, such as ''Shop on the Main Street'' used a convention film-making style, a significant body of films were bold stylistically and used innovative techniques to dramatise the terror of the period. This included non-linear narratives and narrative ambiguity, as for example in [[Andrzej Munk]]'s ''[[Passenger (1963 film)|Passenger]]'' (''Pasażerka'', Poland, 1963) and [[Jan Němec]]'s ''[[Diamonds of the Night]]'' (''Démanty noci'', Czechlovakia, 1964); expressionist lighting and staging, as in [[Zbyněk Brynych]]'s ''[[The Fifth Horseman is Fear]]'' (''...a paty jezdec je Strach'', Czechoslovakia, 1964); and grotesquely black humour, as in [[Juraj Herz]]'s ''[[The Cremator]]'' (''Spalovač mrtvol'', Czechoslovakia, 1968). | + | The film was written by [[Ladislav Grosman]] and directed by [[Ján Kadár]] and [[Elmar Klos]]. It was funded by [[Czechoslovakia|Czechoslovakia's]] central authorities (as were all films under the Communist regime), produced at the [[Barrandov Studios|Barrandov Film Studio]] in [[Prague]], and filmed with a [[Cinema of Slovakia|Slovak cast]] on location at the town of [[Sabinov]] in [[Regions of Slovakia|north-eastern Slovakia]] and on the Barrandov [[sound stage]]. It stars [[Jozef Kroner]] as carpenter Tóno Brtko and [[Poland|Polish]] actress [[Ida Kaminska|Ida Kamińska]] as the Jewish widow Rozália Lautmannová. |
| - | Literature was an important influence on these films, and almost all of the film examples cited in this section were based on novels or short stories. In Czechoslovakia, five stories by [[Arnošt Lustig]] were adapted for the screen in the 1960s, including Němec's ''Diamonds of the Night''. | + | The film won the 1965 [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film]], and [[Ida Kaminska|Kamińska]] was nominated in 1966 for [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress in a Leading Role]]. The film was also entered into the [[1965 Cannes Film Festival]]. |
| - | Although some works, such as Munk's ''The Passenger'', had disturbing and graphic sequences of the camps, generally these films depicted the moral dilemmas that the Holocaust placed ordinary people in and the dehumanising effects it had on society as a whole, rather than the physical tribulations of individuals actually in the camps. As a result, a body of these Holocaust films were interested in those who collaborated in the Holocaust, either by direct action, as for example in ''The Passenger'' and [[András Kovács]]'s ''[[Cold Days]]'' (''Hideg Napok'', Hungary, 1966), or through passive inaction, as in ''The Fifth Horseman is Fear''. | + | ==Plot== |
| - | + | During [[World War II]], a mild-mannered [[Slovaks|Slovak]] carpenter Anton "Tóno" Brtko ([[Jozef Kroner]]) is offered the chance to take over the sewing notions store of an old, near-deaf [[Jew]]ish woman Rozália Lautmannová ([[Ida Kaminska|Ida Kamińska]]) as a part of the enactment of an [[Aryanization (Nazism)|Aryanization]] regulation in the town. As Tóno attempts to explain to Mrs. Lautmannová, who is oblivious of the world outside and generally confused, that he has come to be her supervisor and owner of the store, Imrich Kuchár (Martin Hollý, Sr.), a Slovak opponent of Aryanization, steps in and reveals to Brtko that the business itself is less than profitable, as Lautmannová herself relies on donations. The Jewish community then offers the amiable Brtko a weekly payment if he does not give up the store, which would otherwise be given to a new, possibly ruthless Aryanizer. Tóno accepts and lets Mrs. Lautmannová believe he is her nephew who has come to help in the store. Their relationship grows, until the authorities round up the town's entire Jewish population for transport, and Tóno finds himself conflicted as to whether he should turn in the senile Mrs. Lautmannová, or hide her. When the woman finally becomes aware of the [[pogrom]] all around her, she panics, and in attempting to silence her, Tóno accidentally kills her. The realization devastates him, and he hangs himself. | |
| - | The 1970s and 1980s, were less fruitful times for Central European film generally, and Czechoslovak cinema particularly suffered after the 1968 Soviet-led invasion. Nevertheless, interesting works on the Holocaust, and more generally the Jewish experience in Central Europe, were sporadically produced in this period, particularly in Hungary. Holocaust films from this time include [[Imre Gyöngyössy]] and [[Barna Kabay]]'s ''[[The Revolt of Job]]'' (''Jób lázadása'', Hungary, 1983), [[Leszek Wosiewicz]]'s ''[[Kornblumenblau]]'' (Poland, 1988) and [[Ravensbrück]] survivor Juraj Herz's ''[[Night Caught Up With Me]]'' (''Zastihla mě noc'', Czechoslovakia, 1986), whose shower scene is thought to be the basis of Spielberg's similar sequence in ''Schindler's List''. | + | |
| + | ==See also== | ||
| + | * [[List of submissions to the 38th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film]] | ||
| + | * [[List of Czechoslovakia submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film]] | ||
| + | * [[List of films featuring the deaf and hard of hearing]] | ||
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The Shop on Main Street (Czech/Slovak: Obchod na korze; in the UK The Shop on the High Street) is a 1965 Czechoslovak film about the Aryanization programme during World War II in the Slovak State.
The film was written by Ladislav Grosman and directed by Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos. It was funded by Czechoslovakia's central authorities (as were all films under the Communist regime), produced at the Barrandov Film Studio in Prague, and filmed with a Slovak cast on location at the town of Sabinov in north-eastern Slovakia and on the Barrandov sound stage. It stars Jozef Kroner as carpenter Tóno Brtko and Polish actress Ida Kamińska as the Jewish widow Rozália Lautmannová.
The film won the 1965 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and Kamińska was nominated in 1966 for Best Actress in a Leading Role. The film was also entered into the 1965 Cannes Film Festival.
Plot
During World War II, a mild-mannered Slovak carpenter Anton "Tóno" Brtko (Jozef Kroner) is offered the chance to take over the sewing notions store of an old, near-deaf Jewish woman Rozália Lautmannová (Ida Kamińska) as a part of the enactment of an Aryanization regulation in the town. As Tóno attempts to explain to Mrs. Lautmannová, who is oblivious of the world outside and generally confused, that he has come to be her supervisor and owner of the store, Imrich Kuchár (Martin Hollý, Sr.), a Slovak opponent of Aryanization, steps in and reveals to Brtko that the business itself is less than profitable, as Lautmannová herself relies on donations. The Jewish community then offers the amiable Brtko a weekly payment if he does not give up the store, which would otherwise be given to a new, possibly ruthless Aryanizer. Tóno accepts and lets Mrs. Lautmannová believe he is her nephew who has come to help in the store. Their relationship grows, until the authorities round up the town's entire Jewish population for transport, and Tóno finds himself conflicted as to whether he should turn in the senile Mrs. Lautmannová, or hide her. When the woman finally becomes aware of the pogrom all around her, she panics, and in attempting to silence her, Tóno accidentally kills her. The realization devastates him, and he hangs himself.
See also
- List of submissions to the 38th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Czechoslovakia submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of films featuring the deaf and hard of hearing
