Carriage to Vienna

Karel Kachyňa's 1966 Czechoslovak film is set in the last days of the war and follows Krista, whose husband was hanged by the Germans, forced to carry two fleeing Austrian soldiers in her cart. She plans to kill them in the forest. The film's courage is humanising the enemy and questioning revenge: the wounded young soldier is also a victim, and as Krista begins to see it her plan becomes impossible. That view caused argument in Czechoslovakia and the film was later shelved. Iva Janžurová's performance is almost wordless. The forest sequences carry the tension. The ending is merciless. Who it's for: viewers interested in the Czechoslovak new wave and post-war moral narrative. Who it's not for: anyone wanting a clear side, or avoiding violent content.