This is a Polish film that poignantly illustrates the damaging and far-reaching effects of war. Set in Lodz and small Polish towns during the 1960s, the focus is on Anna, a young novitiate, and Wanda, an aunt she had never met. Before taking her final vows, Anna is sent by the Mother Superior to visit Wanda, who is the young girl’s only living relative. The two women couldn’t be more different, as Wanda is a sybarite: hard-drinking, chain-smoking and regularly bar-trolling for men. She is also an apparatchik of the Polish Communist party, an important magistrate. Wanda immediately reveals (this is not a spoiler) that Anna, nee Ida, is Jewish, the daughter of Wanda’s younger sister. The two embark together on a journey of discovery—about both self and family—and by speaking to Polish neighbors in their ancestral village, uncover the details of what happened to their loved ones. The experience turns out to be a test of faith for each of them, but in very different ways.
This is a powerful, if melancholy, film. Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski, it is shot in black and white and dominated by the bleakness of Poland in winter. It was screened at the 2013 Toronto Film Festival and has garnered widespread awards and accolades.
Should You See It? Yes, especially if you are interested in the Holocaust/the Soviet era. —D.W.
Viewed at Landmark Plaza Frontenac cinema
