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 DARK
BLUE WORLD- Drama. Czech/English with optional English subtitles. 115
minutes. Rated R, violence, light sexual situations. After Germany takes
over their homeland during WWII, Czech Air Force pilots Franta and Karel,
who are like father and son, take off for Great Britain to join the
British Royal Air Force. While in the UK, Franta and Karel are teamed up
with other Czech Air Force pilots for training, all of whom become
frustrated with being grounded and not allowed to fly missions and help
free their home country of Germany’s grip. While training and learning
English, Franta and Karel develop an even stronger bond as the men look
out for each other and turn to each other for support. Just as the Czech
squadron reaches total frustration, they are finally allowed to fly
missions. However, these missions start a string of events that tests
Franta’s and Karel’s strong
bond after one of the men meets a beautiful married English woman and
falls in love with her.
Based on the true events of Czech pilots flying with the RAF, Dark
Blue World paints a classic Hollywood war film loaded with comradeship,
romance, and how a woman’s love can really mess things up between two
pals. Shot under the nearly invisible constraints of a low budget,
director Jan Sverak does a remarkable job with every aspect of the movie,
from the planes, the sets, the actors, and even the dog. There are a few
cheesy CGI effects that are easily overlooked and forgotten. Although I
loved the entire story, the best part about Dark Blue World is it shed
some light on something I knew nothing about; the Czech pilots who had the
guts to fight with Great Britain after Czechoslovakia was overrun by
Germany. Even gutsier is how and what happened to these men, which is also
depicted in this movie, when they returned to Czechoslovakia after the
war. This DVD is loaded with great extras; commentary by the director and
producer, a making of feature, a visual effects making of feature, photo
montage, and more. You have to love well done love stories draped around
historical World War II events. Good movie! – Denis Sheehan
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