Summary
Not surprisingly, the end of World War II was an inspirational historical period for a number of Czech filmmakers. In this milieu, they could portray the activities of those Czechs who were forced into passivity during the occupation. The setting of this drama, which takes place at the beginning of May 1945, is the Elbe, a river serving as both an escape and a traffic route for the retreating Germans. The Moldau cargo ship carrying explosives has a Czech crew; a decision is made to thwart some enemy plans... The leading roles in this war picture are played by Josef Větrovec, Jaromír Hanzlík and Eduard Cupák. The part of Polish girl Wanda was an early appearance by Simona Stašová. The screenwriter and director Otakar Fuka demonstrated his interest in WWII not only in Mys Dobré naděje (Cape of Good Hope, 1975), but also in drama Piloti (Pilots, 1988) and Soviet war epic Boj o Moskvu (The Battle of Moscow, 1985), for which he was part of a directors' collective.
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