Movie Review # 397: Anthropoid (2016)

Good afternoon everyone! Hope you all had a fun weekend, and enjoy this week, and the weeks to come! Today, we are going to talk about a film that is based on true events that apparently occurred during the infamous World War II. Yeah, this, along with many other films of this caliber seem to show how much seemed to go on during this particular time in history. Well, presenting the one and only Anthropoid.

Plot: Set in the year 1941, two Czechoslovakian soldiers named Jozef Gabcik (Cillian Murphy), and Jan Kubis (Jamie Dornan) make their way to the city of Prague after being betrayed by a couple other soldiers. After making their way to Prague, the two soldiers, along with some other friends that are part of the German resistance, must execute Operation Anthropoid by attempting to overthrow Adolf Hitler’s second-in-command Reinhard Heydrich (Detlef Bothe), who currently occupies Prague with an iron fist. Can the soldiers carry out their mission, and free Prague, and possibly even all of Czechoslovakia once and for all?

Wow, let me tell you guys, I’m not sure how many nominations this film got either at the Oscars, or Golden Globes, or some event like that. Regardless, we have a winner. This film is definitely rated appropriately, as it got rated R. Anyway, this film does a fantastic job of showing how difficult life was in the European areas of the world. Of course we know that things were difficult nearly everywhere in the world. Still, with Hitler, and Heydrich taking over places like Germany, Austria, and places like that, and all the massacres that occurred as a result, this film does not shy away from showing what that type of life was like. Sure, we are focused mostly on Prague, Czechoslovakia, but still. In addition to this, this film is also not afraid to show how gruesome things were, whether it be the way that people were tortured, how people got killed, you name it. It’s also interesting to find out that there was such a thing as cyanide capsules. How interesting that there was both that, and cyanogen gas. Go figure! In addition to all of this, this movie does well with showing how some people were willing to stand up to evil, as opposed to going along with the “mob mentality.” The music by Guy Farley, and Robin Foster is also very good. The movie also does an excellent job of showing how not everyone is going to eye to eye with each other in every situation. Additionally, Anthropoid can be a good teaching tool on how to handle situations in very creative ways, even if it means making decisions that you may not necessarily want to make. The movie also tackles tough subjects like loss, heartbreak, other things like that as well. Oh, and the movie can help remind people at certain points that not everyone can be trusted. So where you draw the line between trusting, and not trusting people, you got me! What’s more is that the acting is also really good. The actors, and the writers also really seemed to take care into making sure that they knew how certain people spoke, and making the right kind of accents as a result. It’s also interesting to learn that there are still bullet holes remaining in the Saints Cyril and Methodius Cathedral that is located in Prague. One other thing to mention is that Anthropoid does a fantastic job of explaining why socialism doesn’t, or didn’t, work well in places like Prague, Czechoslovakia, or anywhere else for that matter. So yeah, for those people that are hellbent on incorporating socialism into the US, then all the more reason that those people should plan to watch movies like Anthropoid, China Cry, or any other movie that covers a heavy subject such as that one. You may change your mind about wanting socialism afterwards. Hug feel free to prove me wrong anyway!

With all of that said, is there anything negative about this film? Well, the only thing that one could possibly think of is that the relationship between either either of the two main couples in this film could have maybe been given a little more attention. Oh yes, it was fairly good. It just could have been better.

And that’s my review for Anthropoid. With how dark, and violent it is, is this film worth seeing multiple times? Well, some people may want to see this film more than once, while others may just want to see it only once, and let that be a done deal. One way, or another, people should definitely see it at least once in their lifetime, and see how difficult life was back then. That is especially since people could realize what a blessed life some people could be living now. So yeah, definitely make it a goal to see Anthropoid. You may yet be surprised by some of the enjoyment that can be found in this film.

Final Grade: A