The Shop on Main Street (1965)

CZECHOSLOVAK CLASSICS: Classics from the unrivalled history of Czechoslovak cinema. Screening throughout September and October at De Uitkijk.

Tono, a shy Slovak carpenter, dreams of a quiet life. At least, until his town is occupied by the Germans. The occupiers offer him an extraordinary opportunity – the chance to become the ‘Aryan manager’ of an elderly Jewish widow’s shop. Tono agrees. Unexpectedly, the cowardly man becomes an accomplice to a totalitarian regime. His struggle with his own greed and feelings of guilt becomes increasingly intense as the fascists tighten their grip.

Complicity and the moral cost of indifference are laid bare by the directing duo Kadar and Klos, resulting in an Oscar for Best International Feature Film.