by SARAH ROWLAND

Sweeping romantic World War II sagas are good for relationships. There's just something about watching a couple facing the horrors of a genocidal campaign that tends to put our own trivial bickering in perspective. Suddenly, arguing over whose turn it is to take out the recycling doesn't seem so important. That's why no matter how many love-against-all-odds-under-Nazi-occupation epics are pumped out in time for Oscar consideration, we eat 'em up, especially when they are as beautifully photographed and paced as Zelary.

The Czech export, which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign- Film of 2003, tells the story of Eliska (Ana Geislerová), a young nurse who moonlights as an active member of the Resistance. When her lover/comrade is arrested, she reluctantly agrees to flee Prague to avoid the ugliness of execution. One of her patients, Joza (György Cserhalmi), offers to hide her in the farming village of Zelary under the guise of being his wife. During the course of her stay, she befriends several eccentric country dwellers, almost gets raped by the town bully, and lo and behold falls in love with her husband.

As Eliska slowly gets to know her better half, director Ondrej Trojan stays clear of too many city slicker gags, although he does throw in the old career-gals-can't-cook-a-meal-fit-for-a-dog chestnut. And even though you see the played-out joke coming a mile away, it still seems refreshingly sweet when these two pull it off.

The long and lean Cserhalmi is especially irresistible as the primitive gentle giant. You can almost hear his oversized heart beating irregularly at the sight of his wife. Still, he sticks to his side of the bed like a tortured animal until he finally gets the green light. With a single drawn-out look of longing, Cserhalmi conveys an unworldly tenderness with his deeply penetrating eyes. In contrast, Geislerová radiates the delicate finery of a water painting, as though any exposure to rain could wash away her pastel beauty.

If watching these two people fall in love while struggling to stay alive under impossible conditions doesn't make you appreciate your significant other (if only long enough to go home after the movie and try a new position), then neither will all the marriage counselling in the world.

Zelary opens Friday, Dec. 10

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