In the Shadow

The movie pictures a friendship and bravery at the times when courage was a ticket to the execution ground. Framed by a criminal story, the movie takes us to the spring of 1953, shortly after the death of the communist boss Klement Gottwald. He is replaced by Antonin Zapotocky who follows the tough course of repression and strengthening the communist regime. We see Captain Hakl pass through the dusky streets in his gray overcoat. A tenacious and somewhat choleric detective full of emotion and intuition, with whiskers and a hidden pain. Hakl has been with the police for 25 years having gone through service during the First Republic, Nazi occupation and now working for the communist National security. His apoliticalness and craving for partial truth bring him across more and more new facts implying that the seemingly simple case with an only suspect starts to twist. All the circumstantial evidence are heading to the Jewish community. He is followed by Major Zenke like a shadow, who is invited from East Germany as a specialist on Jewish crime. The story deals with a fabricated mugging orchestrated by the communist secret service in order to divert attention from the impending national disaster – monetary reform. This crime committed on a nation, having gotten out of control of the initiators, is one of the greatest robberies in Europe's modern history. (official distributor synopsis)