Movies
The Shop on Main Street
A Czechoslovakian war classic reiterating the Nazi atrocities. There's no lack of films handling this subject and even though The Shop on Main Street takes a more local approach, the result isn't that much different from other films handling the same subject. More so, I found the presentation here rather lacking. Anton Brtko is a carpenter, but because of the Aryanization efforts he's asked to take over the sewing shop of a Jewish widow. Anton complies, but makes a deal with the widow that she can still run her own shop, with Anton helping her do the more menial tasks. The two develop a trusting relationship, but outside pressure mounts. There's some moral ambiguity to work through, while the Czech focus adds a unique angle. The performances are rather poor though, the pacing is sluggish, and the cinematography is pretty dull. I was pretty much done with the film after 30 minutes, so the 120-minute runtime surely didn't help either. Not my cup of tea.Read all