| Director | Sean Ellis |
|---|---|
| Genre | biographical film, drama film, historical film, thriller film, war film |
| Runtime | 120 min |
| Country | Czech Republic, France, United Kingdom |
| Budget | $9 million |
| Box office | $5.3 million |
In December 1941, German occupation in Europe has neared its height. Two agents from the Czechoslovak exile government, a Slovak soldier, Jozef Gabčík and a Czech, Jan Kubiš are parachuted into their occupied country. Jozef is injured when he crashes through a tree upon landing, but both men set out to find their contact in the resistance movement. They are discovered shortly afterwards by fake resistance fighters who turn out to be traitors; one is shot by Jozef but the other man escapes. Stealing their truck, the agents head for Prague.
When they seek out their contact, they are directed to Dr. Eduard, a veterinary surgeon who stitches Jozef's injuries. Eduard informs them their contact was arrested by the Gestapo and arranges for them to meet other resistance members, led by "Uncle" Jan Zelenka-Hajský and Ladislav Vaněk. Gabčík and Kubiš reveal that they are under orders to carry out Operation Anthropoid, the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the main architect of the Final Solution, and the Reichsprotektor of German–occupied Bohemia and Moravia.
With limited sources of intelligence and equipment, Jozef and Jan must find a way to assassinate Heydrich, an operation which they hope will incite further Czech resistance against the occupation. With the help of two young women, Marie Kovárníková and Lenka Fafková, along with other plotters, the agents plan to ambush Heydrich along the route to his headquarters at Prague Castle. When the agents learn that Heydrich is about to be transferred to Paris, the plan goes into effect straightaway with the duo bolstered by the addition of other agents who have been parachuted into Czechoslovakia and the remaining resistance fighters in Prague.
On 27 May 1942, the assassination attempt is carried out; Jozef's Sten sub-machine gun jams, but Jan throws a makeshift grenade which detonates under Heydrich's limousine, seriously wounding him before Jan and Jozef flee the scene. Schutzstaffel (SS) security forces round up thousands of Czech citizens and carry out reprisals, during which Lenka is killed trying to escape. Heydrich dies from his injuries a few days later.
Reprisals continue with the Lidice massacre, its male population over the age of 16 summarily murdered, and the women and children sent to concentration camps. Fearing that his family may fall victim to the reprisals, Resistance fighter Karel Čurda contacts Karl Hermann Frank, Heydrich's replacement as Reichsprotektor and betrays the others for amnesty and the reward. The Moravec family who had sheltered Jozef and Jan while they planned the attack are arrested by the Gestapo. Marie Moravec commits suicide with a cyanide pill, but her son, Ata Moravec, is tortured by the Gestapo until he reveals Jozef and Jan's hiding place in a concealed basement of the Saints Cyril and Methodius Cathedral in Prague. Hundreds of troops storm the cathedral where the Resistance agents are hiding. Jan, Adolf Opálka and Josef Bublik engage in a fierce last stand, killing many German soldiers before they are overwhelmed and are killed or commit suicide. The SS try to break into the crypt, where Josef Valčík, Jaroslav Švarc, Jan Hrubý and Jozef commit suicide to avoid capture. Before Jozef kills himself, he is comforted by a vision of Lenka reaching her hand out to him.