Danuta Szaflarska Movies

Regretting that she didn't meet her beloved husband until later in life, a wistful forty-something is miraculously transported back to her youth to experience life in the Popular Republic of Poland in this poignant fantasy comedy from cult director Julisz Machulski (Kiler, Seksmisja). Zosia leads a happy life: she recently remarried to Kuba, and together they work hard to raise her young daughter. Although Zosia's ex-husband has a habit of showing up at the most inopportune times, even his unwanted presence can't spoil her blissful new life. Regretting that she hadn't met Kuba earlier in life, Zosia soon finds out that time can sometimes be turned back. Now, back in the 80s and given a second chance at life, Zosia discovers that true love has a powerful way of transcending space, time, and even political systems. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Jerzy Stuhr wrote, directed, and starred in this drama about a man sworn to uphold the law who applies a very different moral code to himself than he does to others. As Adam Borowski, Stuhr plays a government lawyer prosecuting a variety of cases, including smuggling, theft, child abandonment, and racially motivated assault. However, Adam's own life is hardly a model by which to live. He's overextended himself financially and is trying to figure out how to avoid paying the hospital bills for his terminally ill mother. Adam is married, but he's been having an affair for some time, and, while he breaks off his relationship with his mistress, he's easily tempted into other liaisons. His wife wants to adopt a handicapped child; Adam would prefer not to have another child in the house, and he uses his influence to slow up the paperwork. And in order to reduce his tax bill, Adam has involved himself in a charitable donation scheme of dubious legality. Amidst all this, Adam sings with a choral group scheduled to make a tour of the United Kingdom; one of his best friends from the group is slowly slipping into madness. Tydzien Z Zycia Mezczyzny was well-received when it was screened in competition at the 1999 Venice Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Polish filmmaker Jerzy Lukaszewicz directs the religious drama Faustina, based on the real life of Sister Mary Faustina, born Helena Kowalska in 1905 as the third of ten children. Even as a child, she had experienced visions of Jesus Christ, which would continue throughout her life. In 1925, she joined the Polish convents of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy and took the name Sister Mary Faustina. This film features dramatized stories from her life, based on actual writings from her spiritual journals and personal diaries. Faustina died of tuberculosis in 1938, was beatified as a saint in 1993, and canonized in 2000 by Pope John Paul II. Starring Dorota Segda and Danuta Szaflarska, Faustina won Best Feature at the Catholic Film Festival in 1995. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Even in Poland today, Gypsies are viewed with profound suspicion -- not that things are that much better for them anywhere else in Europe. In this coming-of-age drama, Mala, an ordinary Polish girl who is about thirteen years old, is just beginning to wake up to the world around her. When she hears the adults of the village making disparaging remarks about Gypsies, that's exactly what it takes to motivate her to go out and visit them. She has a rich and rewarding encounter, until the authorities come into their camp to drive them off. No one is harmed, and Mala's life has been changed for the better by her adventures. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In a poetic evocation of a land that produced creative talents like those of Marc Chagall, Lithuanian-born director Tadeusz Konwicki looks at his native country through a story based on a novel by fellow Lithuanian Czeslaw Milosz. The main protagonist -- aside from the haunting landscape and forests -- is young Tommy (Maciej Mazurkiewicz) who observes his valley beginning to deteriorate as social unrest grows in the 1920s. Tommy's fantasy life brings him in touch with "evil" forces and a doomed love affair, but the reality is that he lives on a wealthy estate near the Polish border and even though the war has ended, animosity has not. As dissention and antagonism grow, the shadows of a future war are already growing darker in the once-innocent valley. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

All the ambiance of an old-fashioned circus comes across with great clarity in this otherwise routine psychological tale about a mean-spirited mime and his effects on his colleagues. The small, traveling circus has been sliding downhill for awhile, and unless some new life is infused into its acts, its future does not look very rosy. Into this precarious situation comes a new mime with the uncanny ability to sap the confidence of his fellow performers. If he continues for long in this vein, no one will be able to believe they have any talent left at all. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi