Official US Trailer for Harrowing Czech WWII Film 'The Painted Bird'

"I want to go home!" IFC Films has debuted an official US trailer for the extra-bleak Czech war drama The Painted Bird, originally titled Nabarvené ptáce in Czechia. This originally premiered at both the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals last fall, and earned mixed reviews, praising the raw intensity of this harrowing war-is-hell feature. Written & directed by Czech filmmaker Václav Marhoul, and adapted from Jerzy Kosinski's novel of the same name, it's about a young Jewish boy wandering around Eastern Europe alone during WWII. The B&W 35mm film is described as an "evocation of wild, primitive Eastern Europe at the bloody close of World War II." The Painted Bird is a dramatic story examining the immediate relationship between terror and cruelty on one side and innocence and love on the other. The film stars Petr Kotlár as The Boy, plus Stellan Skarsgård, Udo Kier, Harvey Keitel, Julian Sands, Lech Dyblik, Aleksey Kravchenko, Petr Vaněk, & Barry Pepper. This won't be for everyone, a bit too gloomy for these times.

Here's the official US trailer for Václav Marhoul's The Painted Bird, direct from IFC's YouTube:

You can still watch the first festival trailer for The Painted Bird here, or the other UK trailer here.

A young Jewish boy somewhere in Eastern Europe seeks refuge during World War II where he encounters many different characters. Václav Marhoul has spent more than a decade writing, producing, directing The Painted Bird. He acquired rights to the novel in 2010, shortly after his 2008 feature Tobruk. First published in 1965, The Painted Bird is a notoriously tough read for the way it depicts the brutality and suffering that the boy experiences and witnesses as he wanders from village to village. Altered forever by his ordeal, he struggles for his soul and future after the war. The Painted Bird is both written and directed by Czech filmmaker Václav Marhoul, director of the films Smart Philip and Tobruk previously. Adapted from the late Polish writer Jerzy Kosinski's classic novel of the same name, published in 1965. This initially premiered at both the Venice Film Festival and Toronto Film Festival last fall. The film opens in cinemas in the UK starting March 27th. IFC Films will also release The Painted Bird in select US theaters April 17th.