As an American, most of what I learned about World War II involved the big highlights: invasion of Poland, capture of Paris, bombing of London, America's entry into the war, and the eventual end of the war. The histories we learn here are skewed towards the Allies involvement, and often glosses over the horrors of the Western Front and the involvement of other countries like Finland or, in the case of Anthropoid, Czechoslovakia (or what is now the distinct countries of the Czech Republic and Slovokia). Evidently, a whole year before invading Poland, the Germans occupied Czechoslovakia, murdering thousands of Czechs in Prague. Sadly, the Allied countries of Europe could have prevented the occupation, but fearing war, they allowed Hitler to invade and claim the valuable industrial resources.
Anthropoid focused on the only successful assassination attempt of a high-ranking Nazi official to happen during the war. Two operatives from the government in exile parachute into the countryside around Prague, and lay out a risky plan to assissinate Reinhard Heydrich to an uncertain assembly of active resistance agents. The film follows the operatives as they go about doing their spy-craft: collecting data on Heydrich, evading the SS, and eventually performing the assassination. Of course, nothing goes as planned, but I won't spoil the ending of the film.
This was a really interesting, well-done movie about a horrendous moment in history. It's hard to say I liked the movie, considering the situation, but I was glad to have seen it: good actors, good story, well-told.
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