"Romeo, Juliet and Darkness"
(Sweet Light in a Dark Room)
1959
Directed by Jiri Weiss

Romeo, Juliet and Darkness is a radical departure for Czech filmmaking in its unconventional treatment of the Anne Frank theme in a Czech setting. Pavel, a student, hides Hana, a young Jewish girl, in the attic of his apartment building. He is her only link to the outside world, and their growing trust develops into love, until the two are discovered by Pavel's mother. Weiss' double tragedy of young love and the moral question of responsibility to the Jews during the Nazi occupation is treated with poetic restraint. This film is a powerful condemnation of indifference toward force and terrorism. Also known as Sweet Light in a Dark Room. Czech with English subtitles.  96 minutes.