Movie: Ida

Ida:  a Polish film.  Timeline is 1962.  There is a significant difference between the opening scenes and what ultimately unfolds.  The opening scenes take place at a convent where we are introduced to Anna (Agata Trzebuchowska), a young novice who grew up in the convent and is scheduled to take her vows.  She meets with the Mother Superior who insists that Anna meet her Aunt Wanda (Agata Kulesza), Anna’s sole living relative, prior to taking take her vows.  The movie changes once Anna meets Wanda.  Prior to their meeting, all Anna knows is that Wanda is her aunt and there are no other family survivors.  Anna then learns that her birth name was Ida Lebenstein.  During this relatively short film, we learn who Wanda is, who Ida is and how Ida ended up at the convent.  In the early 1950s, Wanda was a State prosecutor (“Red Wanda”) for the communist political trials.  As a reward, she is appointed a judge.  Wanda chain smokes, drinks and has one night stands, all in stark contrast to the convent-raised Ida.  As the story unfolds, we learn why Wanda never visited her niece.  The anti-Semitism that allowed the Nazi program to be so successful in Poland slowly unfolds as Ida learns about her heritage.  There are additional surprises; the opening convent scenes are not the only misdirection in this 100-minute film.  The movie is in black and white with subtitles.  The dialog is surprisingly sparse.  The writer and the director, Pawel Pawlikowski, allow a significant portion of the story to be told visually.  The pacing and cinematography of Polish films, at least those that make it to US, are quite different from films created in Hollywood.  This is something I first noticed in Polanski’s Knife in the Water; I can still recall scenes from this film that I saw back in the 1960s.  This cinematic difference is also apparent in Aftermath, an excellent film shown at last year’s Honolulu Jewish Film Festival.  I’m not familiar with Polish cinematographers but their insight is clearly different from what is typically presented in US cinemas.  I don’t want to interfere with the surprises that unfold and, therefore, will not comment further on the storyline other than to say that just because Ida’s place in the world was a product of the holocaust is not a reason to avoid the movie because you don’t want to see another holocaust movie.  There is humor as well as human tragedy.  This is a well told story that will stick with you with excellent acting by the two central characters.