Anthropoid

Parental Rating: R

Contains: Violence    Adult Content    

Jill's Review

Opens August 12, 2016

Runs 120 minutes

This is a true story based on Operation Anthropoid during WWII. In 1941, resistance fighters, led by a Czech - Jan Kubis (Jamie Dornan) and a Slovak - Jozef Gabcik (Cilliam Murphy) train in London and then are parachuted back into German controlled Czechoslovakia. Once back in country, they must meet up with the rest of their very small resistance group, led by Uncle Hajský (Toby Jones), in order to carry out their plot to assassinate SS General Reinhard Heydrich. Heydrich was the Reich's third in command behind only Himmler and Hitler himself. He was the man behind the Final Solution to exterminate all of the Jews. And, he was currently ruling over Czechoslovakia with an iron fist, brutalizing the population and wiping out anyone who dared to cross his path. This movie depicts these brave men (and women) as they carry out their plot and then fight to the end to try to save their country from total destruction.

This was an interesting movie. I had never heard this story before. Heydrich was the only SS officer to be assassinated (although there were attempts on others, including Hitler). This small resistance group was able to rid the world of a terrible man. But, this brought heavy reprisals on the remaining Czech citizens. It leads to the ongoing debate  - is riddng the world of one terrible man worth the death of thousands of innocents in retaliation? In War, it seems that the answer is yes. I liked this film but I did not love it. It is fairly slowly paced until the final act. The final act takes place in a Church where the fighters attempt to hold off a squadron of Germans for over six hours. It was brave but futile. Not knowing the story, I felt a little in the dark at times. Things weren't always clear as to who everyone was and what they were supposed to be doing. But, it is an admirable film. If you are a fan of true stories of bravery and honor, then this might be for you.

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