Polish films about solitude

A dashing young Italian in Poland finds himself caught between two women — a novitiate nun and a ruthless corporate ladder-climber — in this lacerating vision of contemporary Poland from master filmmaker Krzysztof Zanussi.

A movie about the power of thousands, the courage of hundreds and friendship of a few, thanks to whom a change of fate of millions became possible. Poland, lower Silesia, the beginning of a very cold winter 1981. After a series of entrapments by the security service a confrontation between the opposition and the communists seems to be inevitable. Just before the proclamation of martial law a group of young solidarity activists decide to play va banque and organize a rash action to take out 80 million of the union money from one of the Wroclaw’s banks before the account is blocked. Security service officers follow their steps. It’s the beginning of a gripping tournament in which also priests and curb dealers will play their parts. Each side has aces up their sleeve.

In 1987 Poland, a police officer investigating mysterious disappearances infiltrates a remote monastery and discovers a dark truth about its clergy.

A man and a woman meet in the ruins of post-war Poland. With vastly different backgrounds and temperaments, they are fatally mismatched and yet drawn to each other.

Basia and Marek have been on the run their whole lives. Along with their nine-year-old daughter Ula, they experience what it’s like to be an immigrant in Sweden. When a Swedish social worker visits their home, she witnesses Ula’s everyday reality, as seen from the perspective of the local culture. Ula is then taken away from her parents and placed in foster care. Will Basia and Marek stick together and fight for Ula? Will they succeed in rebuilding their bond and their family?

The story of a 20-year-old Daniel who experiences a spiritual transformation while living in a Youth Detention Center. He wants to become a priest but this is impossible because of his criminal record. When he is sent to work at a carpenter’s workshop in a small town, on arrival he dresses up as a priest and accidentally takes over the local parish. The arrival of the young, charismatic preacher is an opportunity for the local community to begin the healing process after a tragedy that happened there.

Set in communist Poland of the 80s the movie depicts early career of cardio surgeon Zbigniew Religa.

On the last day of 1999, 20-year-old Sebastian locks himself in a TV studio. He has two hostages, a gun, and an important message for the world. The story of the attack explores a rebel’s extreme measures and last resort.

Poland, 1990. The first euphoric year of freedom, but also of uncertainty for the future. Four apparently happy women of different ages decide it's time to change their lives, and fulfill their desires.

69-year-old Jola puts on elaborate make-up, while her husband spouts casual abuse in the background, how she never had much in her head and is basically worthless when it comes down to it. So Jola leaves Italy on a train bound for her native Poland. There, on the beach, she takes a trip down memory lane with her girlfriends: how she married the young man who got her pregnant, swore to care for him “in good times and in bad”, raised her six children and put up with punches, put-downs and her husband’s drinking problem. And now? Now she dresses elegantly, and takes singing and dance lessons. In the process, she meets a gentleman her age, Wojtek, and the two strike up a friendship. But divorce, at her age? What will her family, her friends or the church say? Of course, one can just leave, everyone is free to choose, but is it the right move?

A movie spun out of equal parts folk tale, fable and real-life legend about the mysterious, 1930s Tennessee hermit who famously threw his own rollicking funeral party... while he was still alive.

How was it possible that a single man influenced contemporary world so significantly? This film is an attempt to capture the phenomenon of a common man’s metamorphosis into a charismatic leader — an attempt to see how a Gdansk shipyard electrician fighting for workers’ rights awakened a hidden desire for freedom in millions of people.

Dominik is an ordinary boy. He's got loads of friends, the hottest girl in school, rich parents and money to spend on brand-name clothes. But one innocent kiss with a mate changes everything. He begins to isolate himself from the outside world, spending all his time on his computer. He meets an anonymous girl who introduces him to the "suicide room", a place from which there is no escape. Caught in a trap woven of his own emotions, Dominik becomes entangled in a web of intrigue and gradually loses what he cherishes most.

Two brothers are trying to find out the truth from years ago. The whole town is against them.

A policeman gets killed and the short-staffed police chief sends for a few experienced officers to support him in his fight with organized crime. Meanwhile, a conflict between local gangster groups escalates.

Michalina Wislocka, the most famous and recognized sexologist of communist Poland, fights for the right to publish her book, which will change the sex life of Polish people forever.

In a secluded valley in Iceland, Gummi and Kiddi live side by side, tending to their sheep. Their ancestral sheep-stock is considered one of the country’s best and the two brothers are repeatedly awarded for their prized rams who carry an ancient lineage. Although they share the land and a way of life, Gummi and Kiddi have not spoken to each other in four decades. When a lethal disease suddenly infects Kiddi’s sheep, the entire valley comes under threat. The authorities decide to cull all the animals in the area to contain the outbreak. But Gummi and Kiddi don’t give up so easily – and each brother tries to stave off the disaster in his own fashion: Kiddi by using his rifle and Gummi by using his wits.

The story of Polish pedagogue Janusz Korczak and his dedication to protecting Jewish orphans during the war.

The love between Mateusz Krol, a Kashubian boy, and Marita von Krauss, a Prussian aristocrat in whose family home he is taken in when his mother dies, grows and matures thorough the years, while Kashubia, the northern Polish region where they live, suffers the consequences of the tragedies that will ravage Europe from the beginning of the 20th century until the end of the World War II.

Bosnia, July 1995. Aida is a translator for the UN in the small town of Srebrenica. When the Serbian army takes over the town, her family is among the thousands of citizens looking for shelter in the UN camp. As an insider to the negotiations Aida has access to crucial information that she needs to interpret. What is at the horizon for her family and people - rescue or death? Which move should she take?

An examination of the Soviet slaughter of thousands of Polish officers and citizens in the Katyn forest in 1940.

Two kids bring in a rock-and-roll fugitive from another world pursued by merciless bounty hunters, and in order to save his life they have to find a way to send him back to where he came from.

A duplicitous young man finds success in the dark world of social media smear tactics — but his virtual vitriol soon has violent real-life consequences.

In 1975, Ryszard Kapuściński, a veteran Polish journalist, embarked on a seemingly suicidal road trip into the heart of the Angola's civil war. There, he witnessed once again the dirty reality of war and discovered a sense of helplessness previously unknown to him. Angola changed him forever: it was a reporter who left Poland, but it was a writer who returned…

One country. Four directors. Six comedy-dramas. Each of them works as a separate story, together they form a coherent whole. All of them are based on seemingly mundane situations that take a perverse turn, bringing the heroes to the brink of their endurance.

Young couple living in the old house suddenly discover an elevator which takes them directly to year 1939.

The true story of pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman's experiences in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation. When the Jews of the city find themselves forced into a ghetto, Szpilman finds work playing in a café; and when his family is deported in 1942, he stays behind, works for a while as a laborer, and eventually goes into hiding in the ruins of the war-torn city.

A story about the rise and fall of Zyga - a Polish kid in his early twenties, who wants to take charge of his life after the fall of communism, but in a time of chaos and moral anarchy, unwillingly becomes a gangster.

A polish gangster discovers the senselessness of his life.

"Botoks" is intended to be a record of the authentic history of strong, determined and expressive physicians who struggle with life's decisions and problems: discrimination, maternity pressures, the pursuit of youth, the fight for the right to free choice and own views.

The Wareckis, an average married couple, stop at a store returning home on New Year’s Eve. The husband goes shopping, the wife stays in the car and waits for him, hours go by but he does not return, in fact, nobody can find him anywhere... A series of seemingly minor events transforms these simple characters’ lives into a gripping horror-thriller, a wild and disturbing image of the impact of consumerism.

A journalist tries to balance the duties of marriage and motherhood while researching a piece on college women who work as prostitutes to pay their tuition.

A father and his two teenage sons travel to a small mountain cabin for a male bonding adventure. When a lost tourist arrives at the cabin, their male-bonding outing turns into a struggle for survival.

Summer of 1939. Zosia is a young Polish girl who is deeply in love with Ukrainian Petro. Their great love will be put to the test when her father decides to marry her to a wealthy widower Skiba. Right after wedding she is left alone because her husband is drafted to the Polish army for the war with Germany. Meanwhile, tensions grow due to Jews, Poles, and Ukrainians living side by side.

Days before the end of the school year, Liliana gives Janek an ultimatum, giving him 24 hours to either prove his love for her or forget about her altogether.

A famous Danish artist and fashion photographer who leads an eventful life and is always travelling, meets a man who immediately awakens strong feelings in her. This unexpected encounter sparks a decisive turning point in her life and they begin a passionate relationship.

A busy attorney, worried that his anorexic daughter Olga might try to harm herself, since she's still grieving over her recently deceased mother, sends her to see a psychiatrist, Anna, who's dealing with her own loss in an unusual way.

A sociopath begins a relationship with the daughter of a couple he intends to murder.

Véronique is a beautiful young French woman who aspires to be a renowned singer; Weronika lives in Poland, has a similar career goal and looks identical to Véronique, though the two are not related. The film follows both women as they contend with the ups and downs of their individual lives, with Véronique embarking on an unusual romance with Alexandre Fabbri, a puppeteer who may be able to help her with her existential issues.

An aggressive thug has problems with his girlfriend. Over the course of several chaotic days he walks around the hood, takes drugs and confronts himself with other women.

Two mermaid sisters, who end up performing at a nightclub, face cruel and bloody choices when one of them falls in love with a beautiful young man.

After Germany invades Poland and the Nazis order the confinement of all local Jews in the ghetto, medical doctor Artur Planck (Joseph Fiennes) manages to flee with his family, seeking refuge at the farm of Emilia (Kelly Harrison), their former grocer. With the Planck family hiding in her attic, Emilia finds her feelings for the physician growing stronger than she wants, or can control -- despite the dangers of the situation.

NYC, Central Park, 2010. Five young teenagers are violently assaulted. But they’re not your average teenagers… they’re prodigies. The trauma of the assault incites them to lash out against the world in a cold and calculating way. The five chillingly brilliant minds come together to concoct a perfect revenge. The only person aware of the pending doom is Jimbo Farrar, a sixth prodigy, who has gathered them. As long as he fights against his five counterparts with all his might, there’s hope for the world. But should he turn over to their side, it’s only a matter of time before a disaster of apocalyptic proportions ensues…

The film brings the paintings of Vincent van Gogh to life to tell his remarkable story. Every one of the 65,000 frames of the film is an oil-painting hand-painted by 125 professional oil-painters who travelled from all across the world to the Loving Vincent studios in Poland and Greece to be a part of the production. As remarkable as Vincent’s brilliant paintings are his passionate and ill-fated life and mysterious death.

A Taliban soldier struggles to survive after he escapes his captors and flees into the Polish countryside.

The movie begins innocently enough - a group of technology addicted teenagers finds themselves in an off-line camp. However hiking in the woods with no smartphone in sight will not go as planned. They will have to fight for their lives against things they never have seen before, even in the darkest reaches of the Internet. Faced against the dangers lurking in the forest, they will find true friendship, love and sacrifice. Will they come out of it in one piece, or in bloody bits?

A shocking story about addiction and attempts to overcome it. The script is based on Jerzy Plich’s excellent novel “The Mighty Angel” (alternative title: "The Strong Angel Inn"). Jerzy (Robert Więckiewicz) is a writer and a heavy drinker. We meet him at the point when he believes that he can beat his addiction. He falls in love with a young girl (Julia Kijowska) and finally feels that he has got the person and the reason to live for. But soon he yields to his addiction.

Bozenka, a worker from a large bank, believes that only those who buy, truly live their life. And there is always not enough money! The reason for her frustration is also her husband, Stasiunek, who should be a devilish lover of the most beautiful women in the world, but in fact he is a lazy bumbler. And then one day she gets a chance…

This harrowing tale of survival centers on Rose, a Masurian woman, whose German soldier husband was killed in the war, leaving her alone on their farm. A single woman had no defense against Russian soldiers who raped as a form of revenge, nor against plundering Poles who found themselves in desperate straits. Help arrives for Rose in the form of Tadeusz, a former officer in the Polish Home Army who deserted after he saw his wife raped and murdered by Russian troops and is attempting to hide his identity.

A bridegroom is possessed by an unquiet spirit in the midst of his own wedding celebration, in this clever take on the Jewish legend of the dybbuk.