Films A-Z
My Neighbour Killed Heydrich
Šil jsem u Kubiše
Pavel Štingl / Czech Republic / 2010 / 57 min.
The protagonist of the latest documentary by Pavel Štingl is the 92-year-old Moravian farmer Alois Denemark, the last surviving direct contemporary of those involved in the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich. When the Gestapo arrested and subsequently executed all the relatives of the assassins' leader Jan Kubiš as well as the people who helped him, his neighbour Denemark escaped by the skin of his teeth. In 1948, Denemark refused to establish an agricultural cooperative, and consequently the communists sent him to a labour camp for five years. Even though he had to start completely from scratch upon his release in the 1950s, he managed to support his family by farming a small piece of land. The film contains absorbing testimony from this seasoned farmer, who even at an advanced age still ploughs his little field, plays on the harmonica and enjoys a glass of good wine with his friends. Míra Janek's intimate camerawork allows us to listen undisturbed to Denemark's deep understanding of life, the surrounding countryside and human nature.
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