By Ralph Haselmann Jr.

Lucid Moon Review Poetry Website Archives, www.lucidmoonpoetry.com

               In high school we watched a foreign film called The Shop On Main Street, about the Krystalnacht, or Night of Breaking Glass before the Holocaust. It was an artsy film in black and white and I remember writing something extra on the back of the paper as a joke , an interview with the director, because I was bored. It was my first humour piece, although the ideas were taken from a Benny Hill sketch! I got a B+ on the paper, and when I asked the teacher if he had read the other side, he hesitated and said "Yesss…." Oh well!

      The Shop On Main Street is a superbly written and brilliantly acted film from Czechoslovakia. The character of Mrs. Lautmann is made believable by Ida Kaminski's gifted acting abilities. She is able to absorb the flavor of her character and express her character's true emotions and actions. Credit must be given to the actor who portrays Tono Britko, but Ida surely steals all the scenes. Not a minute is wasted under the skillful direction of Jan Kadar. Every scene contains a blend of symbolic representation and artistry. The director's use of black and white film emphasizes the theme and conflict of the story, and adds to the solomness of tone.
        The Shop On Mainstreet is a story about a Jewish widow whose button shop is taken over by an Aryian Controller during the Nazi Holocaust. After Tono becomes appointed controller of Mrs. Lautmann's shop, he realizes that she is a human being, and he comes into conflict with his conscience.
        Although the film contains subtitles, it is not dubbed, which is all the more better, because the reviewer is able to experience the actors' tone of voice and emotions as they were intended to be heard. Aside from a flawed ending, the film is well acted and outstanding in its portrayal of human values and conflicts.

B+
Good

Ralph Haslmann Jr.
World Lit
Mr. Parent
1981

Interview With Jan Kadar, Director of The Shop On Main Street

Ralph Haselmann Jr.: Obviously, you used black and white film to emphasize the conflicts and the solemness of the tone in your film The Shop On Main Street.
Jan Kadar: No no, we run out of colour film! We only ave black and white!
R.H.: Towards the end of the picture, there is a wonderful shot of Tono's dog looking at Tono and walking away from him, as if to make the point that even his dog is turning his back on him and deserting him. How did you ever get the dog to act so much like a human?!
J.K.: I no know whose dog eet is! Eet just walk on the set and ruin my scene! I could keel it!
R.H.: Towards the end of the film, Tono can no longer take it any more, and paces around the room like a madman. The photographer skillfully zooms in on all the objects in the room which contain symbolic representations. You clearly deserve credit for directing that symbolic and thought-provoking scene.
J.K.: No no, we ave no tripod! The camera, it is hand-held, and the camera man could not focus on the actor! A sloppy worker, no?!
R.H.: Well, that's about all we have time for!…

Yuck yuck!

Ralph Haselmann Jr.’s Bio
Ralph Haselmann Jr. was born on October 4, 1965 and lives in the lush rolling green hills of Morristown, NJ. He graduated from Mason Gross School Of The Arts, Rutgers (New Brunswick, New Jersey) in 1990 with a BFA in Graphic Design. He proceeded to paint houses for 11 years after school because it paid much more. He edits the critically lauded Lucid Moon Review Poetry Website, www.lucidmoonpoetry.com, which has been called the best poetry website on the internet, a valuable resource for poets, and is highly rated by Google. His first two poetry books, Wounded Heart, Naked Soul and Scattershot Haze, are available at Xlibris at 1-888-7xlibris, www.Xlibris.com , www.Amazon.com , www.BarnesandNoble.com , and www.Borders.com . In October 2001, Ralph was in a horrible, serious, near-fatal car accident, which left him paralyzed below the waist and in his right writing hand. Ralph is not wallowing in anger or self-pity, rather he is rededicating his life to promoting and publishing the works of others and himself. Remarkably, he can type with an adaptive keyboard and use a mouse pad to work on his website. Ralph is a member of The Writer’s Bridge, a group which will help place his writings in magazine markets that will pay him. Ralph is also a proud member of Peta, not People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals, but the other one, People Eating Tasty Animals! Ralph has given poetry readings at The Shaker Café in Flemington NJ and The Back Fence in NYC. If you would like to reprint his writings or correspond with him, he can be reached at:

Lucid Moon Review Poetry Website and Newsletter, Ralph Haselmann Jr., editor
Morris Hills Center, Room 427 W, 77 Madison Ave., Morristown, NJ 07960
(973) 993-9744 ralphylucidmoon@yahoo.com, www.lucidmoonpoetry.com.

© Copyright 2005 Ralph Haselmann Jr. and Lucid Moon Review Poetry Website www.lucidmoonpoetry.com