The Nazi campaign against local Jews has reached the point where Jews cannot own businesses. Tony is designated the owner of a small, rundown shop long held by 78-year old Mrs. Lautmann (Ida Kaminska). He makes an arrangement with local Jewish leaders to recieve payments while letting Lautmann continue to believe the store is hers.
All is good for Tony, but the time soon comes for the local Jews to be rounded up for transport to concentration camps. This means the end of Tony's profitable business, and more importantly, the end of Mrs. Lautmann. Tony is torn between his affection for his unlikely charge, and his fear of retribution from authorities should he choose to shelter her. To complicate matters, Lautmann remains clueless about the new political landscape and its brutal implications.
How others will see it. It's black and white and in a foreign language. There goes most of the audience, many of whom in any event would prefer more mundane fare. Lovers of classic films will find no familiar faces, and are unlikely to be charmed by the unpleasant storyline. This is a film of interest only to intellectuals. Social scientists can observe how people behave under stress and coersion. Some adapt unconsciously, doing what is their own best interest. Others adapt covertly, and others pretend things haven't changed. Of course, those who actively protest are simply shot, regardless of what you have seen in The Bridge on the River Kwai.
How I felt about it. Naturally, we despite Mark (Frantisek Zvarik), the Vichy-styled local fascist leader, who eagerly embraces the increasingly harsh edicts against the Jews. He sees the fascist movement as an opportunity instead of an evil. Mark is also a scoundrel who cheated Tony out of an inheritance. Tony dislikes Mark for all of these things, but knows better than to refuse his hospitality outright. In the end, Tony will do what he has to survive, but he won't do it cheerfully. And if the guilt is too great, maybe he won't do it at all.
The moral crisis for Tony comes when the cattle cars arrive to take away the Jews. What should he do? Turn Lautmann in? Hide her in the cellar? Try to smuggle her out of town? But it is hard to hide a woman unable to understand the peril of her situation. And Tony knows he could be shot if he takes an active role in her protection. Yet Tony cannot live with himself if he simply turns her over to the Nazis, who clearly place no value on her life.
There's no such moral quandary for Evelyn, who is concerned solely with her material well-being. She probably wishes she could have married Mark instead, a man getting ahead in the world, even if it means replacing your own value system with that of the Nazis.