A brilliant film! Released in 2014 it is set in 1960s Poland. It is shot in black and white; any music apart from the last minutes are integral to the scene, i.e. not superimposed afterwards.
The story-outline: A young girl, an orphan, brought up in a catholic convent is about to take her vows. The mother-superior insists that she talks first to her aunt she has never met, her only known relative. They meet and are confronted with both their past and the events during the war and the German occupation of Poland. No simple stories here. What fascinates and convinces are the complexities of the characters and situations.

Much can be found online but is perhaps best left after watching the film. Interesting is an account by Pawlikowski how the film was made: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/nov/21/pawel-pawlikowski-making-of-ida-pol... and the hostile reaction in Poland: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jan/30/pawel-pawlikowski-ida-criticism-fil... . Unusually, the film was largely improvised, not filmed to the usual locked-in schedule; this caused difficulties with funding but the film gained from it: comparing it to Vittorio de Sica’s masterpiece I watched again recently and that deals - to some extend at least - with a related theme, The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, in my eyes Ida wins exactly because of a spontaneity it communicates and also because of the brilliant performance of Agata Trzebuchowska in the lead-role who had no acting experience. This film of de Sica may also just be too beautiful… (II-21) ( )

A novice nun about to take her vows uncovers a family secret dating back to the German occupation. (fonte: Imdb)

Polonia, 1962. Anna è in procinto di prendere i voti come suora quando apprende dalla sua unica parente di essere di origine ebrea. Entrambe le donne intraprendono un viaggio per scoprire la storia della loro famiglia. (fonte: Wikipedia)

Ambientato in Polonia nel 1962, parla di una giovane donna sul punto di prendere i voti come suora cattolica. Orfana durante l'occupazione tedesca della seconda guerra mondiale, ora deve incontrare sua zia, un giudice ed ex procuratore comunista ed il solo parente sopravvissuto, la quale le dice che i suoi genitori erano ebrei. Le due donne intraprendono un viaggio nella campagna polacca per conoscere il destino della loro famiglia.

An orphan learns about her parents before becoming a nun.

It maintains a distance, like a Kubrick film, which means you don't get emotionally involved, or really know what's going on in a character's mind until after they act on it. What's interesting about that is that it works - one of the only films I've seen not directed by Kubrick himself that takes that approach and succeeds.

Concept: B
Story: B
Characters: B
Dialog: B
Pacing: A
Cinematography: A
Special effects/design: A
Acting: A
Music: A

Enjoyment: B

GPA: 3.5/4 ( )