110. A Prominent Patient (Masaryk ); movie review

A PROMINENT PATIENT (MASARYK)
Cert TBA
114 mins
BBFC advice: TBA

Through cinema, I have learned so much more about the German invasion of Czechoslovakia and the reaction of its people.
Films such as Lidice, Anthropoid and The Man With The Iron Heart taught me of the bravery of the resistance and the cruelty of the Nazis.
But Julius Sevcík's A Prominent Patient has revealed to me about the political machinations ahead of Hitler's army marching into Prague.
It does this through the prism of Jan Masaryk (Karel Roden), the son of the founder of Czechoslovakia.
Masaryk is a reluctant voice of the Czechoslovak people, propelled into frontline politics because he shares his father's name.
A Prominent Patient flicks between him being treated at a mental institution in The United States and his time as ambassador in London, prior to war.
This time-shifting makes the nuances of the movie more difficult to follow than they should be for those without deep understanding of the period.
Anyway, Masaryk is portrayed as deeply intelligent but tortured soul who refuses to do any compromise deal with Germany.
This means he has a difficult relationship with his own president, Edvard Benes (Oldrich Kaiser) and the British establishment led by Neville Chamberlain (the unrecognisable Paul Nicholas).
Roden excels in the lead role, one-minute taking refuge in a haze of cocaine-fuelled dancing, the next having to involve himself in life-or-death political hardball.
Sevcik's movie certainly looks the part - taking the United States, Britain and Czechoslovakia back to the late 1930s.
In those days individual pacts with more powerful neighbours (Czechoslovakia had one with France) were seen as protection against those with aggressive instincts.
However, the question left hanging was whether these deals would hold under the threat of Hitler's huge army or would the appeasers allow him to feed him small states such as Czechoslovakia to save themselves?
A Prominent Patient is revelatory on several levels and also throws in the added spice of Masaryk being treated by a German psychiatrist who had fled the Nazis.
It is a dark and enlightening movie but would have been more effective if it had been chronological.

Reasons to watch: Reveals more details of Czechoslovakia during World War II
Reasons to avoid: Confusing at times because of flashbacks

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 7.5/10

Director's quote - Julius Sevcík: "I created a contemporary feel within a historical picture as I believe the conflict between submitting to a greater power and standing up for European values is constantly present."

The big question - Should the British and French have declared war sooner?

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