The Fifth Horseman is Fear (1964)

Original title

A pátý jezdec je Strach

Directed by

Zbyněk Brynych

Genre

drama film, war film

Country

Czechoslovakia

Runtime

1h 40m

Rating

6.4 of 10 from 18 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

The film follows a Jewish doctor in Nazi-occupied Prague who tries to hide from the Gestapo. It shows how the constant fear of persecution slowly breaks down his mind and relationships.

bleaktenseunsettlingclaustrophobicslow-burnoppressiveexpressionistcontemplative

What happens

The Fifth Horseman Is Fear (Czech: A pátý jezdec je strach) is a 1965 Czechoslovak film about the Holocaust that was directed by Zbyněk Brynych. Instead of depicting gas chambers and concentration camps, the film examines the subtler but equally debilitating mental effects of oppression. It gets its name from the story of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse written about in the Book of Revelation. The film uses expressionist cinematography, and its film score is set to discordant piano music. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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