The Shop on Main Street

1965 drama

Rating: 17/20

Plot: In 1940's Czechoslovakia, a guy's brother-in-law, during the process of Aryanizing the town, gives him a golden opportunity when he puts him in charge of a Jewish shop that sells buttons. Yes, it's a button shop. When Nazis come to get the elderly woman who was the proprietor--and who still thinks she's running things--the guy has mixed feelings.

Were there a lot of button shops in Czechoslovakia?

This is a straightforward story without a lot of flash although it does have its share of symbolism (urinating preceding cock crows, a "Tower of Babel," cranes, the gleam of a cigarette case) and some great visual moments. One of those is during a climax, an extended shot where it almost seems like the main character is trying his best to hide from the audience but can't escape the camera. There's also a brightly contrasted dream sequence or two complete with some umpah umpah circus music, a great sequence where there's a discovery made and discussed with soundless voices, and a hungover awakening scene with an upside-down perspective.

Mostly, this is just the evolving mentality of our main character, a guy whose motivations we understand completely at the beginning of the movie. He's a dynamic character though, changed by his circumstances and the relationship he forms with the proprietor of the titular button shop, and as he becomes confused, the characterization is more difficult to pin down. That relationship is both touching and comical, the latter because the old woman never realizes what's going on and assumes she's still in charge. There's a beautiful irony there. Any tragic moments throughout this movie are more moving because of their relationship.