Pod Mocnym Aniolem (2014)

Directed by: Wojciech Smarzowski
Country: Poland

Movie Review: The films from Polish filmmaker Wojciech Smarzowski are always interesting to follow, no matter what theme he chooses – whether the dark crime thriller of “The Dark House”, the humorous drama of “The Wedding”, the coldness of war in “Rose”, or the severe accusations of corruption and power abuse made by Polish police in “Traffic Department” – each of them had something valuable to say in its harshness and objective rawness. “Pod Mocnym Aniolem” (translated “The Mighty Angel”) is another powerful drama focused on alcoholism and based on Jerzy Pilch’s successful fourth novel with the same title. The film follows Jerzy (Robert Wieckiewicz), an intelligent and talented writer who can’t keep off from the bottles of vodka, even doing frequent treatments in a rehabilitation house and attending group sessions. Evincing a corrosive sense of humor, his denial takes him to a cynicism and to a spiral of degradation that not even the woman of his life is capable to bear. He wanders and writes in a sort of limbo state where reality and imagination interweave. We are taken through the stories told by other alcoholics, but also to Jerzy’s memories of his drunken father. Horrible images haunt us, depicting embarrassing situations, deliriums, vomiting, and crazy hangovers. It’s a sad film, about suffering, about loss, about fate… Its finale is simply devastating, even cruel. I was touched in two ways – one given the last hope sought by Jerzy, and the other through the creepy loneliness that can ruin everything again. Although with a slow-burning start, “Pod Mocnym Aniolem” won me over.

Read More

Life Feels Good (2013)

Directed by: Maciej Pieprzyca
Country: Poland

Movie Review: Polish filmmaker Maciej Pieprzyca, inspired by true events, brings us a compelling drama about a young man, suffering from cerebral palsy, who passes great part of his life trying to learn how to communicate. The boy is called Mateusz, who curiously narrates the film despite his inability to speak. Leaving that question aside, “Life Feels Good” is a respectable drama with some lessons to absorb regarding these special persons who refuse to be reduced to just a vegetative state. Presented in little chapters, we can follow Mateusz’s path since the 80’s towards his own personal victory, when he was given a chance to communicate while staying in a clinic for mentally disabled persons. His appreciation for the opposite sex was pretty clear, and he promptly reacts to a new volunteer with whom he creates a tight bond. However, her intentions were different and not everything will become good memories for the patient Mateusz. Using clear and sharp images, “Life Feels Good” wasn’t sentimental at all, showing that resignation is the last word to be learned by Mateusz, who clearly prefers those crucial sentences that follow him throughout his life experience: ‘never give up’ and ‘everything’s fine’. Less humorous than “The Sessions”, as well as less intense than “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”, this Polish drama was engaging but not mind-blowing. Fantastic performances by Dawid Ogrodnik and Kamil Tkacz who played the adult and young Mateusz, respectively.

Read More

Jack Strong (2014)

Directed by: Wladyslaw Pasikowski
Country: Poland

Movie Review: With “Jack Strong”, writer/director Wladyslaw Pasikowski provides us with a thrilling espionage film based on the real story of Polish Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski who got known as one of the most important spies for CIA in the midst of Cold War tensions. Disillusioned with the Soviet domination and the loss of identity of his own country, Kuklinski decides to risk his life and his family’s by revealing important secrets of state, including secret nuclear operations. Using the code name ‘Jack Strong’ to communicate with the ‘enemy’, Kuklinski ended up awarded by President Carter for his glorious yet risky contribution. The story is told in flashbacks and was suspenseful enough to get me seated without move for more than two hours. Expect a constant asphyxiating atmosphere, tense score, and strong performances by the magnificent cast, which strengthened even more a well-connected story and its intriguing characters. With all these positive aspects we also have a fantastic car chase, one of the most spectacular scenes of this political thriller, along with a fulminant, bitter ending that left me perplexed. Shot with rigor and set up in an attractive old-fashioned way, Pasikowski proves that Polish cinema still has something valuable to give, even if in most of the cases, is invariably centered in WWII. If “Aftermath”, his previous film, was a disappointment, “Jack Strong” comes as an impressive feature and is solidly recommended.

Read More

Ida (2013)

Directed by: Pawel Pawlikowski
Country: Poland / Denmark

Movie Review: After his first four fictional feature films have been made in UK, Polish born filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski returns to his country of birth to shoot “Ida”, a simple, sad, and mesmerizing drama set in the 60’s about a young nun of Jewish origin who tries to find out what happened to her missing family. Anna was raised in an orphanage since childhood and is about to take her vows. In spite of the letters sent along the years to her aunt Wanda Gruz, her only living relative, she never got any reply back. Impelled by her prioress she leaves the convent to meet Wanda, a decadent former state prosecutor for the Poland’s Stalinist regime, who discloses that Anna’s real name is Ida Lebenstein, and her parents have no graves, since their bodies lie buried in the middle of some woods or lake. Together, they will look for the truth about Ida’s parents, an atrocious reality that will also disclose Wanda’s own secret. I was glad to see Pawlikowski returning to the right track and compelling stories after the misstep “The Woman in the Fifth”, since Ida’s story is not just about the past of her family but also the final disappointment with the exterior world. Deep silences and a highly aesthetical black-and-white cinematography take us to the European cinema of other times – from Bresson to Bergman (presence of religion), adorned with a score that had its peak with a live version of Coltrane’s “Naima”, and distinct performances. With great sensibility, Pawlikowski presents us one of the best works of his career, a modern treasure in tones of classic.

Read More

The Closed Circuit (2013)

Directed by: Ryszard Bugajski
Country: Poland

Movie Review: Known for the 1989 magnificent thriller “Interrogation”, Ryszard Bugajski returns to direction after a four-year gap with “The Closed Circuit”, another drama/thriller based on real events that devastated even more Poland’s moral and political dubious reputation. The story dates back to 2003 in Gdansk, where three smart entrepreneurs launch a huge high-tech electronics factory backed up with quality Danish equipment. Their success soon became coveted by corrupt, influent agents who worked for government law enforcement bodies. They will set up a dirty scheme to seize the factory and arrest the innocent owners, traumatizing them and their families forever. Characterized by its straightforwardness and talkative approach, Bugajski was able to infuriating me in a good sense, since the story seemed very real in its way to depict the abuses of power, greediness, and contempt for others’ lives, with strong ability and determination. The actors were perfect in their roles, especially Janusz Gajos as Kostrzewa, a frustrated and greedy district prosecutor with a shameful past, and his vassal Kamil Slodowsky, a thorough investigator who never hesitates to falsify evidences whenever threatened. Solidly structured, “The Closed Circuit” creates the required impact in its clear observation of the new Poland. Curiously, this accusing satirical feast didn’t receive any financial support from Polish government.

Read More

Aftermath (2012)

Directed by: Wladyslaw Pasikowski
Country: Poland / others

Movie Review: Written and directed by Wladyslaw Pasikowski who has been dedicated to TV series since 2004, “Aftermath” is a Polish drama involving two brothers, decided to unveil a dark secret hidden by the whole village concerning the massacre of Jews in times of German occupation. One of the Kalima brothers, Franciszek, returned from America where he was working in asbestos removal and demolitions. His absence from his father’s funeral made his brother Jozef resentful, but in his rude way he will show a good side after finding some grave stones buried in an old deserted road. The brothers were not well seen by the community, a problem that came from the times when their father was alive. Technically there is not much to point here, with the film accomplishing its purposes of showing an oppressive atmosphere, but in terms of story and dialogue I was disappointed. The story drags itself for long periods, evincing sluggishness on the moves and methods that made me stop searching for the secret and boringly wait for the revelations, which were not surprising at all. Several times, a false tension was created without consequences, while in other situations the absence of that tension was unjustified and even required. Set up with dark tones and with a photography that remind me the 80’s, “Aftermath” never impressed, ending up in a sentimental family fuss that, once for all, thwarted its possibilities of success. It was considered best feature film at Jerusalem Film Fest.

Read More

Imagine (2013)

Directed by: Andrzej Jakimowski
Country: Poland / Portugal / others

Movie Review: Shot in Lisbon and spoken predominantly in English with some occasional Portuguese, “Imagine” is the third feature film from Polish director Andrzej Jakimowski, better known for 2007’s “Tricks”. The film follows Ian (Edward Hogg), an enigmatic blind teacher who arrives at a residential school for blind to make a total revolution through unconventional methods. Sustaining that blind people are able to walk without a cane, Ian will embark in an adventurous but dangerous trip into the outside world when he challenges quiet Eva (Alexandra Maria Lara) for a walk in the bright sunlight of Lisbon’s streets. Other curious young man, Serrano (Melchior Derouet), wants to follow them, showing signs of fascination by Ian’s sites descriptions and rich imagination. However, disillusion and mistrust will come up in this game of sounds, where we, viewers, also imagine and search for something well aware of our senses. Innovative in concept and very European in style, we have here a good alternative to Saramago’s “Blindness”, which cinematic adaptation by Fernando Meirelles didn’t run so well. Even if sometimes we may notice an inconstant pace and intermittent efficiency in the narrative, “Imagine” became an unprecedented experience and deserves a good, relaxed watching. Jakimowski was considered best director and won the audience award at Warsaw.

Read More

Traffic Department (2013)

Directed by: Wojciech Smarzowski
Country: Poland

Review: Wojciech Smarzowski returns with the raw and aggressive style that characterizes him to fiercely criticize the Polish police system and much more. “Traffic Department” has been a massive success in Poland, and depicts a period in the life of seven conniving cops whose daily life in Warsaw is outrageously filled with sex, alcohol, drugs, and bribery. If this wasn’t enough, there is also racism and corruption associated with governmental people. The story starts without focus on any member in particular, but little by little we get to know that officer Krol is the man to follow, when he became the main suspect of Sargent Lisowski’s mysterious death. There were plausible reasons behind this accusation but Krol will do everything to clear his name and find the truth. I think that Smarzowski, in his urge to denounce this dark side of his own country, took some scenes to extreme levels, especially those depicting the police officers partying. In the other hand, its sarcastic and sturdy vision on the matter has the goal to open the people’s eyes for a problem with great impact in society. The structure is not always clear in its orientation, and sometimes we need to make an extra-effort to understand all the connections. The hasty and abrupt editing is another factor that may not be for everyone’s taste. Even somewhat faulty in its very own poignant and gloomy way, “Traffic Department” uses a strong determination to make us aware of a brutal reality. 

Read More