FILM OF THE WEEK
INTERVIEW | review: Plac Zbawiciela (Saviour Square) (KVIFF 2007) |
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| Written by Boyd van Hoeij | |
| Friday, 17 August 2007 | |
 A Polish working-class family is brought to its knees when the company constructing their new flat they have paid for in full goes bankrupt before delivering the goods in the dark family drama Plac Zbawiciela (Saviour Square). Though a first-rate cast and classy technical contributions give the film of writers-directors Krzysztof Krauze and Joanna Kos-Krauze a high-quality gloss, the story feels just a tad too familiar to really make Plac Zbawiciela stand out from the crowd. As a national acting showcase and a demonstration of traditional Polish filmmaking savvy, however, the film is excellent and will find ample opportunities at further festivals after its international premiere at the recent Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Bartek (Arkadiusz Janiczek, a Polish variation on Daniel Craig) and Beata (Jowita Budnik-Miondlikowska) and their two young sons Dawid and Adrian (Dawid and Natan Gudejko) are looking forward to moving into their new flat when they hear that the construction company has gone bankrupt and all their money -- which includes substantial aid from his mother Teresa, played with delectable acidity by veteran actress Ewa Wencel -- has gone up in smoke. The would-be owners of the various flats in the future high-rise try to get together to work out some form of damage control, but most of these meetings end in pointless shooting matches, while the couple is forced to stay with Teresa, much to the chagrin of Beate, who, to put it mildly, does not really get along with her mother-in-law. This in itself would have been enough material for a heavy family drama, but in Plac Zbawiciela it is only the set-up for more unexpected events, unlikely alliances and some spine-chilling moments, including the one hinted at in the opening scene, which is shown out-of-sequence and starts with a black screen and then simply shows Teresa on the phone. It is a testament to Wencel’s acting abilities that from these small beginnings she is able to suck the viewer in, simply on the premise of getting a proper explanation of what is happening during that small scene. Janiczek and Budnik-Miondlikowska are not far behind, making for a great bickering couple ruined by ruined finances. Plac Zbawiciela’s production values are also impeccable, from Wojciech Staron’s lush cinematography to Pawel Szymanski’s staccato string-based score. In fact, the film is anything if not a quality drama -- including the slight odour of naphthalene the term implies. It is a serious, bleak and heavy affair and would be considered prime Oscar-bait if it had been made in the US. At home, it was the big winner at both the Gdynia Polish Film Festival and the 2007 Eagles, Poland’s top film prizes. Like their painter biopic Mój Nikifor (My Nikifor), which Kos-Krauze co-wrote and Krauze directed, the proceedings are very respectable but lack that spark that would allow it to travel beyond festivals and national showcases. This film was screened as part of the 2007 Karlovy Vary Film Festival. Browse for DVDs, soundtracks, books and more: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.fr, amazon.de, dvdGO.es, internetbookshop.it, nl.bol.com, allposters.com. |
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