This is a well-acted but somewhat overrated serio-comic human drama with a WWII backdrop; typical of Eastern European cinema at the time, the film emerges as rather slight (the grim aspects of its plot are only really felt during the last half-hour or so, making it unnecessarily long at a little over 2 hours) and is full of simple, earthy and clearly downtrodden characters - the Fascist regime standing in for the contemporary Communist oppression - who still burst into song at the drop of a hat! Even if the two main characters aren't exactly endearing (especially the rather insufferable and possibly dim-witted old Jewish lady), the ironic tragic ending packs an undeniable punch.
Even though the film was taken for a poster-bearer for the nascent Czech New Wave - indeed, it went on to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Film - it is intrinsically too old-fashioned to easily fit the bill. This was the directing team's seventh (and penultimate) collaboration, after which Kadar left for the United States to continue making films there - most notably THE ANGEL LEVINE (1970) - before his untimely death in 1979.
Even though the film was taken for a poster-bearer for the nascent Czech New Wave - indeed, it went on to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Film - it is intrinsically too old-fashioned to easily fit the bill. This was the directing team's seventh (and penultimate) collaboration, after which Kadar left for the United States to continue making films there - most notably THE ANGEL LEVINE (1970) - before his untimely death in 1979.