To Be or Not To Be

Joseph and Maria Tura run their own Shakespeare theater company in Warsaw and play the lead roles themselves. Maria has many admirers, including a young lieutenant in the Polish air force, Stanislav Sobinski. When Wanneer de Duitsers Polen invade and thus unleash the Tweede Wereldoorlog, Sobinski and his colleagues flee to England, while the Tura's face strict censorship. During the middle of the war, Sobinski suddenly returns with an important but dangerous assignment for Joseph and Maria: intercepting a German spy. Specific to Cinema ZED Leuven De, the screening of 3/11 will be introduced by Roel Vande Winkel, professor of Film History (KU Leuven). The film is spoken in English and is not subtitled. / The movie is spoken in English and is not subtitled. Commentaar Ernst Lubitsch fled as a German-Jewish filmmaker from the emerging National Socialism in Europe and managed to make a name for himself in Hollywood, where he also became a prominent member of the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League. His political convictions were integral to all his films, but certainly in the no fewer than 6 films he made during WWII, of which To Be or Not To Be is one. In a world teetering on the edge of the abyss, the themes of artisanship, censorship, collaboration, and resistance are both contemporary and timeless. Featuring wonderful black-and-white cinematography, a masterful Oscar-nominated soundtrack, and convincing acting performances by Carole Lombard (who died that same year in a plane crash..) and Jack Benny.