A rare and superb entry from the Slovakia in the genre of Holocaust drama, Broken Promise is a compelling story of survival that is based on the real events in the life of teenager Martin Friedmann. A talented footballer from a large Jewish family, Martin is initially unaware of the approaching Nazi threat, even when the newly formed Slovak state allies itself with Hitler. Martin's parents also resist calls to leave for Palestine until it's too late and the family is trapped. Martin naïvely volunteers for a nearby work camp, where a friend has secured him a place on the football team. It is an almost fatal decision that sees Martin cast from one treacherous situation to another. Under the new name of Martin Petrasek, he finally joins the partisans during the Slovak uprising and manages to see out the war before belatedly leaving for Israel. But he finds anti-Semitism following him wherever he goes. Director Jiri Chlumsky directs this hair-raising story with close observation, and his episodic narrative reminds us that survival in those dark times was often more a matter of accident, luck and happenstance than anything else.