Story Line: During the 1944 German occupation of Hungary, wealthy businessman Josef Krauzenberg (Martin Landau) agrees to trade his empire for his and his family's safe passage into Palestine. Left behind are two servants (Kenny Doughty, Caroline Carver), a Jewish couple working for the Resistance who are passing themselves off as Aryans.
Bottom Line: Though the themes of The Couple carry emotional heft and its story is an important one, the film trails behind The Pianist and Schindler's List in bringing a new perspective to the Holocaust drama. Director Daly's direction goes more down the road of melodrama, with an extravagant climax and an overcooked score that threaten to dismantle the film entirely. Landau gives a fine, understated performance as a man who sacrifices everything for those he loves, but he is in a film that should learn a few more lessons in subtlety. Nonetheless, The Couple does passionately celebrate Jewish heroism and tells a story of hope in the midst of such a horrific period.
Color, PG-13 (violence), 120 min., DVD $24.99