Stars: Tara Fitzgerald, Charles Dance, Ondrej Vetchy, Krystof Hadek, Anna Massey

Summary: In 1939, as Hitler and Germany ran roughshod over Eastern Europe, many people escaped, including Czech pilots who joined up with the British Royal Air Force to fight the Nazis. Jan Sverak's moving war drama, DARK BLUE WORLD, details the story of one such group of Czech pilots who are at first laughed at by their British superiors until they prove themselves in the air. Ondrej Vetchy stars as Franta Slama, the father figure to this motley group of men who desperately want to win back their country. Krystof Hadek plays Karel Vojtisek, Franta's young daredevil protegee who falls in love with an older British woman, Susan (Tara Fitzgerald), whose soldier husband is missing in action. When Franta and Susan grow close, everything threatens to erupt.<BR>Sverak, whose previous film was the Oscar-winning KOLYA, has crafted a beautiful film filled with believable, complex relationships, well-drawn characters, and plenty of finely choreographed air-battle scenes between the young, headstrong Czechs and the perfectly organized Nazis. The acting is excellent, especially the love triangle of Hadek, Vetchy, and Fitzgerald, and terrific support is provided by Oldrich Kaiser as Machaty, the piano-playing Gable look-alike. The film's politics are based on real events; when the Czech pilots who flew for the RAF returned home, they were treated as the enemy, not as heroes, and Sverak intercuts harrowing scenes from 1950 in which the pilots who survived the war are subject to jail and torture in their own land.

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The most durable war films tend to have a personal dimension, and Dark Blue Worldis no exception. This simple but affecting story of Czech air pilots serving in the RAF during the Second World War is sensitively directed by Jan Sverak from a script by his father Zdenek, whose Kolyawas an unexpected but deserved hit with UK audiences.

Dark Blue Worldfocuses on the relationship between Frantisek Slama (played with quiet authority by Ondrej Vetchy) and his protégé Karel Vojtisek (a fresh-faced Krystof Hadek). Escaping Czechoslovakia during the Nazi invasion of 1939, they enlist in the RAF, where the father/son relationship is threatened by their mutual attraction to the apparently widowed Susan (Tara Fitzgerald, thoughtfully understated). The film's culmination sees them reconciled in moving circumstances, and the perspective is widened by scenes set in 1950: Slama, as with most Czech soldiers who fought with the Allies, having been sentenced to hard labour by the Communist authorities as a potential security threat. His decent treatment by a German doctor, as opposed to the brutality of the Czech guards, points up the tragic irony of those who fought for freedom, only to finish up on the "wrong" side of the Iron Curtain.

Sverak maintains a persuasive balance between action sequences--into which out-takes from the 1969 epic The Battle of Britainhave been seamlessly integrated--and the intimate portrayal of human relationships at a time of profound cultural upheaval. The musical score, tellingly arranged by Adam Klemens, centres around the pre-war song "Svita"--a haunting reminder of old-world charm in contrast to new-world grimness. Dark Blue Worldpersuasively locates a human quality within the historical framework, and so makes for rewarding viewing.

On the DVD:Dark Blue World's original 2.35:1 aspect ratio (enhanced for widescreen TVs) reproduces with excellent clarity. Subtitles are in English only--necessary as the soundtrack includes dialogue in Czech and German--with full English subtitles for the hard of hearing. There's a joint running commentary from the Sveraks, an insightful making of documentary, and featurettes giving the low-down on visual effects and aerial sequences. The running photo montage allows for a full run-through of the indelible song "Svieta", and both the English and (very different) Czech trailers are included. Would that all present-day films were as well catered for. --Richard Whitehouse

Aspect Ratio:	2.35 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Featurette - 1. AERIAL SYMPHONY, 2. The Making of the Visual Effects, Documentary - 1. The Making of DARK BLUE WORLD, Audio Commentary, Trailer - 1. Original Czech Theatrical, Additional Trailers, Photo Gallery, Web Link
Subtitles:	English
Year:	2001
Release Date:	November 4, 2002
Runtime:	108 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	C D R 33523
Keywords:	World, Dark, Blue, General, Wide, Screen, Drama, Svet, Tmavomodry
Genre:	Drama