Anthropoid” an Inspiring True Story Of Czech Resistance to
Nazis
By Skip Sheffield
The French resistance to the occupying German Nazis of World
War II is better-known, but the movie “Anthropoid” reveals an equally brave and
determined Czech resistance to its occupation by Germany.
“Operation Anthropoid” was the code name for an audacious
plot by exiled Czech loyalists in London to infiltrate their Nazi-occupied
homeland and assassinate Hitler’s third in command and main architect of the
“Final Solution,” SS officer Reinhard Heydrich, who ruled Czechoslovakia with
an iron fist and no mercy.
The story, based on actual news accounts, was written by
director Sean Ellis, who upped the ante with a bit of romance. Josef Gabcik
(Cillian Murphy) and Jan Kubis (Jamie Dornan) parachute into Czechoslovakia at
dawn in December, 1941. We see Josef hurriedly burying his parachute and trying
to cover his tracks in the forest. He soon is confronted by a large, snarling
dog and a man.
“You didn’t hide your parachute very well,” he says. “Follow
me.”
The man is part of the Czech resistance, and he provides a
temporary safe house for Josef and Jan. Josef senses something wrong.
“How much did the Germans pay you?” Josef demands. He then
shoots the man and Josef and Jan steal the farmer’s truck and head for Prague.
In Prague they meet more clandestine Czech resistance
fighters. They are provided another safe house with a woman, her young son and
a daughter named Marie (Charlotte Le Bon). Marie’s best friend is a fiery
red-headed resistance fighter named Lenka (Anna Geislerna). This is where the
romance comes in. Jan falls head over heels for Marie. Josef develops a strong
attraction to Lenka.
The tension builds as a deadline arrives for their target.
Reinhard Heydrich is leaving for Berlin, so the men and their accomplices have
only one shot to carry out their mission.
Rather than give out any more plot spoilers, let’s just say
the mission was successful, but it carried a terrible price.
I was reminded of the movie “The Alamo” as Josef, Jan and
their comrades are holed up in a church, surrounded by Germans. The odds were
much less favorable for these Czech patriots.
Anthropoid is a tense, stirring tale of bravery, ingenuity
and self-sacrifice. The best part of it is it is a true story. The Czech
Republic survived the Nazis, threw off the yoke of the Soviet Union, and is a
free country today.
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