Archive : 16th AIFF 2010 : LUBITSCH RETSOSPECTIVE

TO BE OR NOT TO BE

A sharp and bitter comedy about the Nazi invasion of Poland, "To Be or Not to Be" proved to be comedienne Carole Lombard's last appearance on the silver screen. The year is 1939, eve of the war of all wars and husband and wife Joseph and Maria are rehearsing a satire named "Gestapo" with their Warsaw theater group. The Polish government, fearing the play will get them on the wrong side of Hitler, decide to cancel the performance and the group opts for Shakespeare's "Hamlet" instead. At the same time, Maria is having an affair with good-looking pilot Stanislav, whom she meets while her husband is onstage performing Hamlet's famous soliloquy. But when Hitler finally invades Poland, the trio join forces in espionage as they try to prevent a snitch from handing over members of the resistance to the Nazis. In yet another demonstration of Lubitsch's supreme skills, "To Be Or Not To Be" combines the fragile equilibrium of a love triangle with sharp political commentary and the depiction of events that changed the history of mankind.