Structurally reminiscent of Alain Resnais’ Hiroshima mon amour, this film from the celebrated pairing of Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos is based on Ladislav Mňačko’s bestseller, which drew on his experiences in the Slovak partisan resistance movement during WWII, and sugar-coated none of it.
Paralysed, lying prostrate in a hospital bed, a despondent young man (Jan Kačer) is haunted by flashbacks of his time as an idealistic guerrilla fighter battling occupying Nazi forces in Moravia. Rudolf Milič’s adroit handheld camerawork and Zdeněk Liška’s plangent score lend an atmosphere of dread and urgency to a war film of rare power.
CaSFFA is delighted to be presenting Death is Called Engelchen in partnership with the Melbourne Cinémathèque. Admission will be via Cinémathèque membership.
