I decided to do a short review of this magnificent piece since I was so overwhelmed by it. I am talking about the movie "Anthropoid", which is based on a true story.
Image source: Wikipedia
The film starts out with 2 Czech agents who are dropped off a plane near Prague by their provisional government located in London. Their mission: Assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, one of the major Nazi officials during WW2 and the man in charge of the holocaust and the so called final solution. Now the title of the movie starts making sense, knowing that anthropoid is a synonym for "manlike", which was a term used by the Nazis to describe the jews and other groups that they referred to as inferior.
The two agents Jozef Gabčík (Cillian Murphy) and Jan Kubiš (Jamie Dornan) eventually make it to Prague and meet the rest of the resistance which has at that point already diminished significantly. With the aid of two women and other plotters, they manage to stay undetected and come up with a plan for the assassination.
Without spoiling too much, their assassination attempt wasn't flawless and as you can imagine, the Nazis wouldn't let them get away with that. Being on the run and searched city-wide, they find refuge in a church and gain some time to figure out how to escape from Prague.
You can feel the tension in the air before during and after the assassination attempt. The actors do an incredible job at portraying their nervousness. You almost feel as being a part of the plot.
The movie uses special effects in a very subtle manner, which fits the overall theme and the historical context. No Michael Bay style explosions to be seen here. The camera movements are used cleverly to underpin the situational contexts.
There isn't a lot of music in this movie but when there is, it blends in with the scenes very well!
Having read about the true events after watching the movie I think that it does quite a good job at portraying what really happened all those years ago. This film seems to come close to the actual events. And if you happen to visit Prague in the future, make sure to check out the church (Ss. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral) in which the resistance fighters found refuge.
My only point of criticism is a short scene near the end of the movie which seemed a little unnecessary and corny to me. In total, this movie is a must see and I clearly recommend it to anyone, especially to those who are interested in historical events. Rarely have I seen a film which was so compelling and I keep thinking about it even days later.
