The statement that 80 Million (2011), a Polish film directed by Waldemar Krzystek, is less a Political Drama than lively hybrid of action movie, heist thriller and dark comedy can be quite valid. On surface, it dealt with the formation of pro-democracy Solidarity in Poland of early 80s that in fact resisted the communist rule as the main subject. But, in its depiction it features solely on small heist angle planned and executed by the Solidarity leaders under the threat of secret police. It featured an incorporation of a few simple truths of the era to play out a conventional cat-and-mouse narrative with a few twists and comical tropes, and was bereft of any attempt at an exploration of a darker and complicated truth. Its characters were too ordinary to constitute for a political drama. In a review published by Screen Anarchy, Kathie Smith writes that 80 Million pays homage to the bravery of the freedom fighters, but she remains clear of much of its traits that were aimed purely for entertainment. Thus, I agree with the statement written by Stephen Dalton in the film’s review for Hollywood Reporter.
Decalogue VIII is the eighth of a series of ten films by Krzysztof Kieślowski made for Polish television in 1988. As other films in the series, it is a film based on the ‘ten commandments’ and tells the story about Zofia, an aging professor at University of Warsaw who learns through a series of events that Elżbieta, her friend and English translator from New York, is the little Jewish child she refused to take in during World War II. The eighth commandment ‘Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor’ relates to the Zofia’s reason that she didn’t help Elżbieta since she didn’t want to fake a baptism. In truth though, she and her husband were leaders of Polish resistance and feared the rumor of Germans sending in fake Jewish children to detect and kill resistance leaders. As stated by Frederick and Mary Ann Brusat in their review, Krzysztof Kieslowski conducts a deep and insightful examination of the impact on humans by the 8th commandment.
There were some interesting characters present in both films. 80 million’s cast had too little in the material to work with. Yet, a few actors were able to deliver convincing performances. My favorite character was Sobczak, a communist officer played by Piotr Głowacki. His was the only character that underwent some kind of transformation in the end. He begins by appearing as the one who is contemptuous of the solidarity leaders, the clergyman and ends by showing the same contempt to the government he is working for. I particularly thought that apart from writing, the character appeared strong due to the way it was played by Głowacki. Decalogue VIII is filled with characters I could relate to and sympathize with. Both Zofia and Elżbieta function as primary characters, but the former was written with a greater moral intensity. Maria Koscialkowska understood the role perfectly and graced the character with her own distinct and dispassionate poise. Hence, Zofia turned out to be my favorite character in Decalogue VIII.
Works Cited
Smith, Kathie. "MSPIFF 2013 Review: 80 MILLION Is A Cerebral Cat-And-Mouse." ScreenAnarchy. ScreenAnarchy LLC, 30 Apr. 2013. Web. 09 July 2016.
Dalton, Stephen. "80 Million: Film Review." The Hollywood Reporter. N.p., 28 Nov. 2012. Web. 09 July 2016.
Frederic, and Mary Ann Brussat. "Spirituality & Practice." The Decalogue VIII. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 July 2016.
