Since many of the movies that touched the subject of the extermination of the Jews during the 1930s and 1940s appeared rather too general, epic proportion films, it seems that something like IDA by Pawel Pawlikowski is a wonderful chance to symbolize a modern approach to the material. It is one great DETAIL, a story of one character where "every moment feels intensely personal" (Peter Bradshaw, the Guardian). A very interesting protagonist tormented by suggestion, suspicion and indication. Yet, does the protagonist instill any understanding in us?
Anna (Agata Trzebuchowska), or rather Ida Lebenstein, is a young 'nun' in the early 1960s Poland who has a chance to leave to the world just for a while before the time comes for the final vows. There, in the convent, within the context of the Benedictine maxim 'Ora Et Labora' (Pray and work) and the statue of the Merciful Jesus, we get to know our protagonist. A very fruitful theme that echoes many of the old Hollywood pictures, including NUN'S STORY. Yet, Anna's leave to the world does not have anything to do with a dilemma whether forgive or not nor with a sort of 'climb every mountain' attitude but she leaves in order to dig in the past, to find the grave of her roots, find out who she really is. In other words, she makes a dramatic discovery of her ancestry. But the help in that journey appears to be quite a sympathetic, earthly easy-going joys' Mary Magdalene-like character of Wanda (Agata Kulesza) and a young saxophonist (Dawid Ogrodnik) who introduces her to the joys of...carnal pleasures. Yes, indeed, she must know those pleasures in order to understand later what she actually resigns from by entering the convent. Jim O'Neill nicely puts it with reference to Ida's character that it is an altogether a "search for identity and truth in a world that suppressed both."
So far, it would make a perfect sense and a lovely inspiration for a drama if it were not for the problem of where the truth lies. Forgive me to become slightly ignorant now or politically incorrect but there is NO historical truth in this movie whatsoever. I am not one of those who blame the movie for being anti-Polish, not at all. While the convent aspect occurs to combine the Jewish world with the Catholic world quite successfully, the later story seems to draw even greater borderline between the Jewish nation and the Polish nation. It could have happened that there were some Polish people who killed the Jews while many many others risked their lives to save them. IDA does not do justice to the nation but, after all, the movie does not intend to do so. A little film can do little good but, at the same time, much evil. The problem lies in the fact that many viewers will be misled by what the argument revolves around. Why did they kill the Lebenstein family and buried them in the forest? Was it because of jealousy? Was it because of greed? (the son in one of the scenes says openly that he will show Ida and Wanda the spot where they are buried on the condition they resign from the property he lives in). Open for discussion and quite thought provoking...but for those who give themselves time and check some history, become intellectually involved not merely resorting to emotions. Others will simply resort to minimalism of the view of what allegedly happened in Poland. Here, as a Pole and Polish patriot I admit that I feel disappointed. More to say, the depiction of Poland is merely shards of old past, long forgotten and ruins. The spots Ida visits are either ruined filthy districts or totally neglected, primitive villages. Come on, that is not the way Poland looked like in the 1960s in spite of the fact that we were being poisoned by the red plague from the east.
But it would be unfair not to see the merits of the film. While many film scholars mention the intense portrayals of Ida and Wanda, I agree but...I would highlight the visual aspect more. Starting with the fact that the film is black and white (which Jim O'Neill labels as "images" looking like "vintage photographs") the camera-work is brilliant. Heavily influenced on cinema's long tradition and revealing certain features of even silent cinema and Expressionism (consider the shadows, the shots of staircase), it is an artistic picture, no doubt of that. I particularly liked the scenes at the convent that seem to grasp the specific atmosphere of the spiritually affected places. The delicacy of the love scene later in the movie also deserves credit. The classical music of Bach supplies the film with additional charm. And the characters?
Wanda and Ida seem to differ a lot from the very first meeting. While Ida is a totally inexperienced character who simply seeks to discover her own identity, Wanda is a woman with a past, a very very cruel past. As a state prosecutor and the one who sentenced many innocent people to death, she supplies the moments with either sarcastic irony or hardly believable metamorphosis. Inspired by the true historical character of Helena Wolinska-Brus, she leaves many questions unanswered. With her alcoholism and act of despair, she remains a rather character to be pitied and, more to say, compassionate. In that respect, I advise you to see GENERAL NIL. Yet, there is something that joins them: mutual Jewish ancestry. Both suffer and both occur innocent.
Relying on Peter Bradshaw's words that every moment in IDA is intensely personal, I recommend this film. From the standpoint of art and psychological torments, from the standpoint of one story, it is a captivating movie. Yet, we should not forget that there are also other standpoints, perhaps the ones that are not taken into account seriously bu surely the ones that cannot be ignored.
Anna (Agata Trzebuchowska), or rather Ida Lebenstein, is a young 'nun' in the early 1960s Poland who has a chance to leave to the world just for a while before the time comes for the final vows. There, in the convent, within the context of the Benedictine maxim 'Ora Et Labora' (Pray and work) and the statue of the Merciful Jesus, we get to know our protagonist. A very fruitful theme that echoes many of the old Hollywood pictures, including NUN'S STORY. Yet, Anna's leave to the world does not have anything to do with a dilemma whether forgive or not nor with a sort of 'climb every mountain' attitude but she leaves in order to dig in the past, to find the grave of her roots, find out who she really is. In other words, she makes a dramatic discovery of her ancestry. But the help in that journey appears to be quite a sympathetic, earthly easy-going joys' Mary Magdalene-like character of Wanda (Agata Kulesza) and a young saxophonist (Dawid Ogrodnik) who introduces her to the joys of...carnal pleasures. Yes, indeed, she must know those pleasures in order to understand later what she actually resigns from by entering the convent. Jim O'Neill nicely puts it with reference to Ida's character that it is an altogether a "search for identity and truth in a world that suppressed both."
So far, it would make a perfect sense and a lovely inspiration for a drama if it were not for the problem of where the truth lies. Forgive me to become slightly ignorant now or politically incorrect but there is NO historical truth in this movie whatsoever. I am not one of those who blame the movie for being anti-Polish, not at all. While the convent aspect occurs to combine the Jewish world with the Catholic world quite successfully, the later story seems to draw even greater borderline between the Jewish nation and the Polish nation. It could have happened that there were some Polish people who killed the Jews while many many others risked their lives to save them. IDA does not do justice to the nation but, after all, the movie does not intend to do so. A little film can do little good but, at the same time, much evil. The problem lies in the fact that many viewers will be misled by what the argument revolves around. Why did they kill the Lebenstein family and buried them in the forest? Was it because of jealousy? Was it because of greed? (the son in one of the scenes says openly that he will show Ida and Wanda the spot where they are buried on the condition they resign from the property he lives in). Open for discussion and quite thought provoking...but for those who give themselves time and check some history, become intellectually involved not merely resorting to emotions. Others will simply resort to minimalism of the view of what allegedly happened in Poland. Here, as a Pole and Polish patriot I admit that I feel disappointed. More to say, the depiction of Poland is merely shards of old past, long forgotten and ruins. The spots Ida visits are either ruined filthy districts or totally neglected, primitive villages. Come on, that is not the way Poland looked like in the 1960s in spite of the fact that we were being poisoned by the red plague from the east.
But it would be unfair not to see the merits of the film. While many film scholars mention the intense portrayals of Ida and Wanda, I agree but...I would highlight the visual aspect more. Starting with the fact that the film is black and white (which Jim O'Neill labels as "images" looking like "vintage photographs") the camera-work is brilliant. Heavily influenced on cinema's long tradition and revealing certain features of even silent cinema and Expressionism (consider the shadows, the shots of staircase), it is an artistic picture, no doubt of that. I particularly liked the scenes at the convent that seem to grasp the specific atmosphere of the spiritually affected places. The delicacy of the love scene later in the movie also deserves credit. The classical music of Bach supplies the film with additional charm. And the characters?
Wanda and Ida seem to differ a lot from the very first meeting. While Ida is a totally inexperienced character who simply seeks to discover her own identity, Wanda is a woman with a past, a very very cruel past. As a state prosecutor and the one who sentenced many innocent people to death, she supplies the moments with either sarcastic irony or hardly believable metamorphosis. Inspired by the true historical character of Helena Wolinska-Brus, she leaves many questions unanswered. With her alcoholism and act of despair, she remains a rather character to be pitied and, more to say, compassionate. In that respect, I advise you to see GENERAL NIL. Yet, there is something that joins them: mutual Jewish ancestry. Both suffer and both occur innocent.
Relying on Peter Bradshaw's words that every moment in IDA is intensely personal, I recommend this film. From the standpoint of art and psychological torments, from the standpoint of one story, it is a captivating movie. Yet, we should not forget that there are also other standpoints, perhaps the ones that are not taken into account seriously bu surely the ones that cannot be ignored.