Drama,War,Thriller
Czech Republic
Diamonds of the Night is a 1964 Czechoslovakia drama film written and directed by Jan Němec, based on the novel Darkness Casts No Shadow by Arnošt Lustig. The film follows two young Jewish boys who escape from a train transporting them from one concentration camp to another. The boys, named David and Ladislav, are on the run in a forest in an attempt to survive and evade the Nazis. The film shows their journey and the horrors they experience, including starvation, thirst, and fear.
As David and Ladislav are wandering through the forest, they flashback to their lives before the war through a series of disconnected images and thoughts. Some of the flashbacks reveal their relationship with their families, friends, and their love interests. In one particular flashback, David remembers dancing with a girl, highlighting the fact that the boys were just like any other teenagers who loved life and had hopes and dreams before the war changed everything.
As the boys tire and their escape becomes more futile, they are caught by a group of old men who are part of the home guard. The old men take the boys back to their village, where they verbally and emotionally terrorize them. The villagers also try to get the boys to reveal their true identities, but David and Ladislav remain silent. The boys are eventually taken to a nearby camp.
Diamonds of the Night is an unflinching look at war and its effects on humanity. It is a haunting representation of the horrors of the Holocaust and the resilience and strength of human spirit in the face of unimaginable adversity. The film was praised for its raw portrayal of emotions and the director's unique vision, and it is regarded as one of the great films of the Czech New Wave.
