Zelary (2003)

"...absorbing... powerful.   A.O. Scott, New York Times
"...a romantic alchemy that's raw, unsettling, and touching.  Bill Gallo, Dallas Observer

Editor's Note A stunning drama of epic proportions, Ondrej Trojan's ZELARY is set in the chaos and upheaval of Eastern Europe during WWII, and garnered an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. Eliska (Anna Geislerová) is a young woman who is involved with the Prague resistance, along with her lover Richard (Ivan Trojan), a surgeon. She works in a city hospital as a nurse, where one night a badly injured man named Joza arrives, desperately in need of a blood transfusion. Eliska is the only person who has the same blood type, and she saves his life, cementing their bond through shared blood. When her underground activities are discovered and she is forced to hide from the Gestapo, she is sent to her former patient's remote village to pose as his rural farm wife. Her new husband is a simple, childlike man, and her adopted milieu is a holdover from a century past. The urban, modern woman is forced to adapt to her new surroundings, while the antagonism between she and Joza slowly develops into a deep love. The breathtakingly gorgeous scenery, dramatic storyline that addresses themes both timeless and historical, and the enchanting performances of the actors, all contribute to making ZELARY an unforgettable, truly moving experience.

	Anna Geislerova
	Gyorgy Cserhalmi
	Jaroslava Adamova
	Miroslav Donutil
	Asen Sopov - Cinematographer
	Kveta Legatova - Based On Novel By
	Milan Kuchynka - Executive Producer
	Ondrej Trojan - Director
	Ondrej Trojan - Producer
	Petr Jarchovsky - Writer
	Petr Ostrouchov - Musical Score
	Vladimir Barak - Editor

Variety 8 of 10
Managing to be at once epic and intimate, Zelary matches a resilient urban woman against a compassio - Eddie Cockrell

San Francisco Chronicle 8 of 10
The stream of films about this period seems to never stop. "Zelary'' distinguishes itself from the p - Ruthe Stein