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Dark Blue World

2001, Movie, R, 0 mins

Dark Blue World: Review

DARK BLUE WORLD
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Two patriotic fighter pilots find the bonds of their friendship tested when they fall in love with the same woman against the turbulent backdrop of WWII. PEARL HARBOR REDUX? Close. Working from a script by his father, acclaimed Czech screenwriter Zdenek Sverak, director Jan Sverak (whose credits include the Oscar-winning KOLYA) uses an equally hackneyed love story to honor a group of less-well-known WWII heroes: The Czech fighter pilots who flew with the British Royal Air Force but were later imprisoned as "enemies of the state" by the Czech Communist government. The film opens in 1950 at the Mirov Prison. Former pilot Frantisek "Franta" Slama (Ondrej Vetchy) is sent to the infirmary after collapsing from fever. Because he fought alongside the British, the government considers him tainted by the West and a danger to state security. Put into the care of a former SS doctor (Hans-Jorg Assmann), Franta recalls the day in March 1939 when he heard the news that his homeland was about to be occupied by the invading German Army. All of Czechoslovakia's armed forces disarm, but Franta, a flight instructor with the Czech Air Force, hands the keys to the airfield over to a Wehrmacht lieutenant (Thure Riefenstein), kisses his girlfriend (Linda Rybova) goodbye and, with his impetuous, fresh-faced student Karel (Krystof Hadek) stuffed into the sidecar of his motorcycle, makes his way to England. Flash forward to 1940: Franta and Karel are part of an RAF squadron comprised of Czech pilots, all anxiously awaiting orders while brushing up on their English and training for combat on bicycles. When the orders finally come, Karel is quickly shot down over the English countryside by a German Messerschmidt. He parachutes to safety and spends the night at the home of Susan (Tara Fitzgerald), a lonely Englishwoman whose husband has been missing in action for more than a year. Against her better judgement, Susan climbs into Karel's bed and the inevitable happens: He falls madly in love, and she realizes she's made a terrible mistake, particularly after she meets the far more suitable Franta. The fate of national heroes like the fictitious Franta is a fascinating subject that deserves a documentary all its own, so it comes as a surprise that Sverak pere et fils should devote so much screen time to a trite romantic triangle. The widescreen photography is, however, quite beautiful, and the scenes of aerial combat thrillingly staged. leave a comment --Ken Fox
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