POLISH FILM CLUB 'OKO'

A Grain of Truth, Polish with English subtitles A tense and well constructed dark thriller, based on  one of the Zygmunt Miłoszewski's crime novels, murder mysteries that weave together modern Polish reality with its recent historical past. An effective and seasoned prosecutor Teodor Szacki (Robert Więckiewicz) has moved from Warsaw to Sandomierz, a picturesque but provincial town, where he finds himself investigating an unsual murder case. Szacki is an outsider, battling his own demons, the surroundings are unfriendly, and a painful tangle of Polish-Jewish relations complicates the investigation. Shot in neo-noir style, with mysterious and dark undertones, further enhanced by the music of Abel Korzeniowski. Cast: Robert Więckiewicz, Jerzy Trela, Magdalena Wałach Trailer:

Citizen, Polish with English subtitles " Forrest Gump meets Fellini in this enjoyably irreverent Euro farce" (Hollywood Reporter) Need we say more? 60 years of Polish most recent history through the eyes of an ordinary man, Jan Bratek (Jerzy Stuhr), who looks back at his life while in a coma... Polish Forrest Gump? Polish Fellini in 8.5 weeks? Perhaps. But first and foremost Jerzy Stuhr's comedic parable of his generation's reality and times. Why else would a Polish comic icon decide to write, produce, direct, and act in his own movie. Cast: Jerzy Stuhr, Maciej Stuhr, Sonia Bohosiewicz, Barbara Horowianka, Magdalena Boczarska, Janusz Gajos  Trailer:    ***** There will be no OKO screening in December due to the holiday season. Merry Christmas everyone! See you in January!

Volhynia (Hatred) Polish with English subtitles "About love in inhuman times", the film is set in the 1939-1943 time frame and its central theme is the ethnic tension that rearises among the local Polish and Ukrainian community amidst the German and Russian invasions. Zosia, a Polish girl in love with a Ukrainian boy, tries to survive the massacre. The screenplay was based on the collection of short stories titled Hate (Polish: Nienawiść ) by Stanisław Srokowski. The film received 9 Polish Film Academy Awards, Orły (Eagles) , in 2017, and 3 Złote Lwy Awards (Golden Lions) at the 41st Gdynia Film Festival . "What makes it tough is that the terror is brought to you by the people you know well, your next door neighbors, your spouse or even your brother." (ktrelski https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3577643/?ref_=rw_urv) Cast: Michalina Łabacz, Arkadiusz Jakubik, Wasyl Wasylik, Adrian Zaremba  Trailer: ***** OCTOBER is the month of Seattle Polish Fil

In Heaven as it is on Earth, Polish with English subtitles A feel-good film about life in a small, quiet Polish village near the eastern border in the 1990s, where everyone knows everyone else. A good combination of boy-meets-girl, humor, suspense, and a little action, when a lovely Russian girl arrives at the scene as a consequence of a bus robbery. The feel of the small Polish village ruled by the local parish priest is practically palpable. This heart-warming comedy won several awards at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia in 1998, including an audience award, best director, screenplay, supporting actor, and sound. Cast: Jan Wieczorkowski, Ira Łaczina, Krzysztof Dzierma, Andrzej Zaborski • • • • • Film club OKO will be on vacation all summer - no films till September. have a great summer!  

Afterimage, Polish with English subtitles Powidoki is the final film by the great Polish director, Andrzej Wajda, and a story about another great Polish artist, an avant-garde painter and art theoretician, Władysław Strzemiński. The film covers the post-war period of Strzeminski’s life who, in the Stalinist era of social realism and art’s servitude to the collective, dares to believe in artist’s autonomy and abstract art. Despite his fame, communist past, and a war hero status, Strzeminski’s refusal to compromise leads to his persecution, dismissal from his professorial position, and erasure from the museums’ walls. De-credentialed as an artist, he is unable to continue his work. The story of Strzeminski becomes the story of Polish artists, their struggle to maintain artistic integrity and their resistance against intellectual tyranny. It is worth noting that Wajda selects for the film the music of another great Polish artist of this era, a modernist composer, Sir Andrzej P

Between March 15 and April 6, you - the audience - have a chance to decide on the next movie (all with English subtitles). Follow this link for film titles, short descriptions, and to vote: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/T5YSYKJ   And the winner is - or rather are - with the identical number of votes: Róża and Tatarak Róża (Rose) Directed by Wojciech Smarzowski Poland, 2011 Drama, War 90 minutes Polish with English subtitles Winner of 6 Polish Film Academy awards, Orły (Eagles), for the best film, director, screenplay, actress, supporting actor, and music score, and the winner of the audience choice award. The film is set in the post-war Mazury region, a border territory, which becomes part of Poland as a result of the Potsdam Agreement after World War II. The tensions of long and complicated history of the region inhabited over the years by Mazurians, Poles, and Germans, further devasted by the war, Soviet soldiers, resettlement drama, and the new,