''Broken Promise'' () is a 2009

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Jiří Chlumský Jiří Chlumský (born 4 July 1958) is a Czechs, Czech film director, director. His 2009 film ''Broken Promise'' was Slovakia's submission to the 82nd Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Chlumský is married to Cz ...

and starring Samuel Spišák,

Ondřej Vetchý Ondřej Vetchý (born 16 May 1962) is a Czech actor. He is a member of The Drama Club (DC) in Prague. Filmography Films * 1985 – Janek in '' Give the Devil his Due'' * 1988 – Dan in '' Dům pro dva'' (nomination for European Film Award f ...

, and Zuzana Porubjaková. The film was Slovakia's submission to the

82nd Academy Awards The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2009 and took place on March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:30 p.m. ...

in the

Best Foreign Language Film The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...

category. It won the main prize at the 2009 Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival. ''Broken Promise'' received nine nominations at the 2010

Sun in a Net Awards The Sun in a Net Awards () are annual awards that recognize accomplishments in filmmaking and television. It is the highest award of achievement in film awarded in Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country ...

but succeeded in winning just one, awarded to Michal Novinski for the film's music.

Plot

Martin Friedmann grows up in a large Jewish family in the Slovak town of

Bánovce nad Bebravou Bánovce nad Bebravou (, ) is a town in Slovakia, in the Trenčín Region. Names The name is derived from the personal name or title Bán meaning "the village of Bán's people". "Nad Bebravou" means "above Bebrava" (beaver river).Martin Štefán ...

. His life is turned upside down with the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

's alignment with the Nazis, and the subsequent persecution of Jews. Motivated by a letter from a friend, he voluntarily goes to the labor camp in

Sereď Sereď (; ) is a town in southern Slovakia near Trnava, on the right bank of the Váh River on the Danubian Lowland. It has approximately 15,500 inhabitants. Geography Sereď lies at an altitude of above sea level and covers an area of . It ...

, where he manages to avoid being deported to a death camp due to his ability to play football. One day, he escapes the camp and returns to his hometown, only to discover that his family has been removed. After returning to the camp, Martin catches pneumonia, and the doctor sends him to a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...

. In order not to have to return to the camp, he works as a laborer in a monastery. With the end of the war approaching, Martin leaves the monastery, contacts the resistance in

Poprad Poprad (; ; ) is a city in northern Slovakia at the foot of the High Tatras, High Tatra Mountains, famous for its picturesque historic centre and as a holiday resort. The largest town of the Spiš region and the largest of all towns in the vic ...

, and joins the

partisans Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Itali ...

under the name Martin Petrášek. He actively participates in the

Slovak National Uprising Slovak National Uprising ( Slovak: ''Slovenské národné povstanie'', abbreviated SNP; alternatively also ''Povstanie roku 1944'', English: ''The Uprising of 1944'') was organised by the Slovak resistance during the Second World War, directed ag ...

, during which he works in

Zvolen Zvolen (; ; ) is a city in central Slovakia, situated on the confluence of Hron and Slatina rivers. It is famous for several historical and cultural attractions. It is surrounded by Poľana mountain from the East, by Kremnické vrchy from the ...

. After the defeat of the rebellion, he and the other partisans take refuge in the mountains, where they fight and manage to hold out until the end of the war. In the end, Martin returns to his birthplace, where he finds only memories and family heirlooms. The film concludes with footage of the real Martin Friedmann visiting Slovakia in the late 2000s, standing at the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

waterfront in Bratislava.

Cast and characters

* Samuel Spišák as Martin Friedmann *

as Friedmann senior * Zuzana Porubjaková as Eva

References

External links

*
''Broken Promise''
at

Eurochannel Eurochannel is a world television channel focused on European culture and lifestyle through movies, series and other programs dedicated to European culture. Eurochannel broadcasts in original audio with subtitles in English, French, German, Ital ...

{{Slovak submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film 2009 films 2009 drama films Slovak war drama films Czech war drama films American war drama films Czech World War II films Slovak World War II films American World War II films 2000s war drama films World War II films based on actual events Slovak-language films 2000s Russian-language films 2000s American films 2000s Czech films Films scored by Michal Novinski

Plot

Cast and characters

See also

References

External links