Overrated and overhyped

just watch it!

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Zelary (2003): Dir: Ondrej Trojan / Cast: Anna Geisleruva, Gyorgy Cserhamhi, Jaroslava Adamova, Tomas Zatecka, Iva Bittova: Extraordinary film about danger and peace. Anna Geisleruva plays Eliska, a spy wanted by the Germans. She flees to Zelary accompanied by the quiet and resourceful Joza. Once there her identity is changed and she and Joza get married. Directed by Ondrej Trojan with splendid acting from Geisleruva who was a medical student before being whisked away. Now she must survive but finds shelter and love from Joza. He is played by Gyorgy Cserhalmi who was medicated by her at the hospital but now he must provide for her. Tomas Zatecka plays a boy who flees from school after scorn and abuse. His father is also abusive so he seeks refuge in a cave. He resides in the snowbound forest because his drunken father beats him but he discovers friendship and aid in the form of a young girl who provides comic relief. Jaroslava Adamova.plays a woman who teaches her about the wonders of herbal remedies before they bring this into the community. Iva Bittova plays a neighbor who lives alone with her daughter and helps Geisleruva become familiar with the lifestyles around her. While detailed with strong themes, it is still crafted with great care and great location work to boot. We are given the harsh realities of war and what it is like to live in hiding. Score: 10 / 10

Zelary is yet,another good find at the library for me. I hadn't heard of this film and I was sort of taken in by the unusual title. I watched it over 2 nights because I started the first 1/2 of the film kind of late. Otheriwse,I'd have sat straight through it. While it's true that there are elements in the film that have been used in other World War 2 dramas,that's a very small thing compared to the grandeur of the movie. It's (as mentioned in the DVD extra's) a love story. Two people get married to protect her from the Nazi's,who would have her executed for working against them. Sort of a marriage of convenience. What starts as something she's not looking forward too,blossoms into love between the two. Despite him being almost 30 years older. We see little of the German threat here but we know it exists,along with the threat of a young man wanting his way with her or he'll turn her in. The movie is more about how she truly becomes as one of the of the small village. The villagers are not 2 dimensional as someone mentioned,they are exactly as people were back then in the 1940s and farther back as well. The scenery is breathtaking and real which helps make it look as it did in that era as well. I feel all the actors did a fine job for a film that took 1 year and 2 months to complete. That long because they wanted authentic time and aging to happen,for a better sense of realism. It's nothing ground breaking but it was a very fine film to watch and become fully engrossed in. 9 stars,purely for being a good movie,with good drama and heart,as well as entertainment value. (END}

Set in Eastern Europe during the Nazi occupation, this is the story of a young, urbane, freedom fighter woman who faces discovery and capture every day in the big city. When the heat gets too high, her leaders suddenly send her away, to lessen the risk on her and everyone else. She just as suddenly finds herself with people she does not know, understand, or even like – who make decisions for her in an isolated, "backward" mountain village. How could life get any worse? What is her reason for living any longer? Well, she will see… she will see... one hard day at a time. This is a quietly powerful film, full of natural grandeur, human pettiness, the ebb and flow of pain and pleasure, forgiveness and revenge, taking and giving, and faith and hopelessness. "Zelary" is epic in scope, and full of Life's lessons. It lacks nothing.

I once asked a film critic friend of mine how he decided a movie would receive his highest rating. He told me that when a movie is beyond criticism, it is worthy of the highest honor. I feel this way about "Zelary". I saw it in the theater when it first came out and saw it again recently on video. The single element that is most striking about this movie is the cinematography which is vivid and beautiful and kept taking my breath away. And quite honestly, those panoramic shots of Zelary and the surrounding mountains reminded me of where I grew up. There are three performances that are perfect. Anna Geislerova as Eliska/Hana won a couple of international acting awards for this performance and totally deserved them. Her nuanced and subtle transformation from reluctant and slightly belligerent 'refugee' to a loving and sensitive wife was a fine example of measured, well-thought out acting. Gyorgy Cserhalmi as Joza is equally as fine and Jaroslava Adamova as Lucka is one of those characters we can't wait to see again. Highly recommended for beautiful cinematography, fine acting and a great example of cinematic storytelling.