Film Archive

53 Wars

East of the West - Competition 2018 / 53 wojny / Poland 2018

Anka is becoming extremely anxious about her beloved husband Witek, a war correspondent. But where does the border lie between reality and catastrophic visions? An evocative psychological drama adapted from the autobiographical novel by Grażyna Jagielska about experiencing war second-hand: we don’t have to be there for it to have a destructive influence on our lives.

Synopsis

War correspondent Witek is away most of the time, and Anka must endure the horrors of war from home. The testimonies Witek passes on to the world feed Anka’s solitude and the catastrophic visions that fill her uneasy mind. And, as it transpires, the border between reality and fantasy is extremely fragile. In her directorial debut actress Ewa Bukowska based her work on the autobiographical novel by Grażyna Jagielska, in the process adeptly avoiding the pitfalls of slavish film adaptations. The non-linear story, the visual quality of the image, and the character acting of Magdalena Popławska render 53 Wars an evocative psychological drama about experiencing war second-hand: we don’t have to be there for it to have a destructive influence on our lives.

Sandra Hezinová

About the film

79 min / Color, DCP
International premiere
Director Ewa Bukowska / Screenplay Ewa Bukowska / Dir. of Photography Tomasz Naumiuk PSC / Music Natalia Fiedorczuk-Cieślak / Editor Agnieszka Glińska PSM / Art Director Anna Anosowicz / Producer Jacek Bromski, Ewa Jastrzębska, Jerzy Kapuścisńki / Production Munk Studio-Polish Filmmakers Association / Coproduction Canal+ Poland, Chimney Poland, Wojciech Kabarowski Digital Movies / Cast Magdalena Popławska, Michał Żurawski, Kinga Preis, Krzysztof Stroiński, Dorota Kolak / Contact Munk Studio - Polish Filmmakers Association
www: www.53wars-movie.com