Agnieszka Holland Movies
Best recognized for her highly politicized contributions to Polish New Wave cinema, Agnieszka Holland ranks as one of Poland's most prominent filmmakers. Following her graduation from the Prague Film School in 1971, Holland served as Krzysztof Zanussi's assistant director on his 1973 film Illuminacja. Director Andrzej Wajda served as her mentor during this time, and the two collaborated on a number of scripts. Holland then directed stage plays and TV movies, later drawing upon her theatrical experience to create her 1978 feature Aktorzy Prowincjonalni, which was outwardly a chronicle of the tense backstage relations within a small town theater company but was actually a metaphor for Poland's political situation. The film won the FIPRESCI prize at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival. Just before the enactment of Polish martial law in December 1981, Holland moved her operations to Paris. Her 1985 feature film Bittere Ernte/Angry Harvest, an examination of the relationship between a gentile farmer and the Jewish woman he conceals during World War II, was nominated for an Academy award for Best Foreign Language Film. Six years later, Holland earned even greater international acclaim and a score of awards, including a Golden Globe, for Europa, Europa (1991). The powerful true story of a young Jewish man who assumes the identity of a Nazi in order to survive the Holocaust, it provided an unforgettable look at human atrocities and the nature of identity. Holland followed it up with another tract on the nature of assumed identity with Olivier, Olivier (1992), which was not as well received. Her beautifully photographed version of The Secret Garden (1993) -- one of the director's numerous Hollywood forays -- fared better, as did her 1997 adaptation of Washington Square. Two years later, Holland directed The Third Miracle, a drama about religious faith and the nature of miracles. In addition to directing, Holland also occasionally works on screenplays; some of her most notable work has been on Wajda's Danton (1982) and Krzysztof Kieslowski's initial entry in his "Trois Coleurs" series, Blue (1993). ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
A modest Polish sewer worker becomes a hero after rescuing a group of Jews from certain death during the Holocaust. Robert Wieckiewicz, Agnieszka Grochowska, and Kinga Preis star in this inspirational World War II drama from two-time Academy Award nominee Agnieszka Holland (Bittere Ernte, Europa, Europa). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Wieckiewicz, Benno Fürmann, (more)
- 2008
A former athlete seek a second chance in life through the game he abandoned years ago in this drama from Poland. Jacek (Marcin Dorocinski) used to be a talented soccer player who had earned a position on the national team. But when a serious injury put Jacek's career on hold, his life fell apart; he developed a serious drinking problem, his wife left him, and he was beaten up by toughs. Now homeless, Jacek spends his days panhandling in a rail station in Warsaw, where he becomes friends with a handful of other down-and-outers. One of Jacek's new comrades tells him about the Homeless World Cup, an international football tournament designed to give marginalized citizens a chance to prove their talent through sport. When his friends learn that Jacek was once a rising star on the soccer field, they convince him to coach the local homeless soccer team, and as this handful of alcoholics and addicts begin to respond to Jacek's leadership, he regains the self-respect and sense of purpose he lost when he had to quit the game. Directed by Kasia Adamik, Boisko Bezdomnych (aka The Offsiders) also stars Rafal Fudalej, Marek Kalita and Piotra Jagielski. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marcin Dorocinski, Rafal Fudalej, (more)
When a young Vienna Music Conservatory student and aspiring composer accepts a job as a copyist for Ludwig von Beethoven, she soon finds her destiny forever interlinked with that of the legendary classical musician in director Agnieszka Holland's romantic period drama. Beethoven (Ed Harris)'s "Ninth Symphony" is about to make its historical debut, but Beethoven's publisher Herr Schlemmer is dying of cancer. Now in desperate need of a copyist to complete the score, the ailing Schlemmer enlists the aid of ambitious student Anna Holz (Diane Kruger); who readily accepts the job despite an explicit warning that the composer is a callous wretch. As Anna begins the arduous process of copying Beethoven's career-defining work, her soul-stirring kindness causes the composer to view their collaboration as a blessing that will enable him to produce some of the most sublime music ever created. When Anna works up the courage to show Beethoven some of her own work, however, his thoughtless derision of the composition causes his sensitive assistant to abandon their current collaboration. Subsequently determined to flee Vienna and marry her devoted paramour Martin, Anna is quickly tracked down by Beethoven and forced to choose between love and duty. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ed Harris, Diane Kruger, (more)
- 2004
Stringer's frustrations with construction hassles are assuaged by Sen. Davis (Isiah Whitlock Jr.); Avon turns his attention to Omar; Brianna meets with McNulty; Prez's sleuthing provides concrete evidence for the detail; Cutty imagines a different career path. ~ Joe Friedrich, Rovi
This gripping drama is based on the real-life story of Mikal Gilmore, a respected journalist whose brother Gary Gilmore was a felon convicted of murder. In 1977, after he was sentenced to death, Gary Gilmore generated international controversy when he demanded that his lawyers call off all attempts to appeal his sentence and requested that his execution be carried out as quickly as possible. As activists for and against the issue of capital punishment debated Gilmore's demand, his brothers Frank and Mikal stepped forward to request a stay of execution, in hopes of forestalling their brother's death despite his public requests. Based on the book of the same name by Mikal Gilmore, Shot in the Heart examines the close, if uneasy, bond between the Gilmore brothers, and the family history of abuse and violence that Mikal believed helped shape his brother into a killer. Shot in the Heart stars Giovanni Ribisi, Eric Bogosian, Lee Tergesen, Amy Madigan, and Sam Shepard; produced for the premium-cable service HBO, Shot in the Heart first aired on October 13, 2001. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Giovanni Ribisi, Elias Koteas, (more)
Faith, family, and devotion are all explored in Polish director Agnieszka Holland's intense family drama. Julie (Miranda Otto) and her twin children, Nick (Ryan Smith) and Nicole (Bianca Crudo), cut short a ski outing due to Nick suddenly taking ill. As they arrive back at home, Julie catches her husband, Henry (William Fichtner), with another woman and promptly moves to end their marriage. Meanwhile, Nick has another spell similar to the first one and doctors discover a tumor in his brain. Further complicating matters is Nick's allergy to the necessary chemotherapy drugs, which prompts Julie to abandon traditional medicine and seek out a Polish healer named Alexei Ormow (Lothaire Bluteau). As the healer begins making progress on the youngster, Alexei and Julie begin to fall in love with each other -- a development that greatly troubles Julie as she struggles to determine how to proceed in the best interests of her family. In 2002, Julie Walking Home (aka The Healer) was selected for inclusion in the Venice Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi
- Starring:
- Miranda Otto, William Fichtner, (more)
A priest finds his faith tested when he's assigned to investigate a possible case of divine intervention. Rev. Frank Shore (Ed Harris) is a Catholic priest who works as a postulator, a church official who investigates reports of holy miracles to determine their veracity. Some time back, one of Shore's investigations had ugly repercussions, and now he devotes his time to running a soup kitchen. But he's called back to service by Bishop Cahill (Charles Haid) when a number of Catholics begin calling for the canonization of the late Helen O'Regan, who is alleged to have performed miracles and whose statue is said to weep tears of blood. Shore begins digging into O'Regan's life and the miracles she is supposed to have performed; in his travels, he meets Maria (Caterina Scorsone), a teenage girl who was supposedly healed by O'Regan, and Roxane (Anne Heche), O'Regan's daughter, who was abandoned by her mother, wants nothing to do with her story, and has given up her belief in God. While investigating the miracle of O'Regan's statue, Shore witnesses the bleeding himself and tells the church that he believes the claims are legitimate. However, this view leads to angry reprisals from Archbishop Werner (Armin Mueller-Stahl); Shore's story is not given any greater credence when he become romantically involved with Roxanne. The Third Miracle was released only a few months after Stigmata, another story of Catholic priests investigating allegations of a modern-day miracle, not the sort of subject one might have expected to become a trend. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ed Harris, Anne Heche, (more)
- 1999
A dybbuk, for those unfamiliar with the term, is actually a wandering evil spirit that has left a human body and is searching at length for a new host. The term and the concept originate in Kabala lore, and more specifically in a Chassidic folktale and a play by Szymon Anski. As an adaptation of Anski's play, this feature from the acclaimed Agnieszka Holland (Europa, Europa) begins with a minor tragedy - the paternal betrayal of a nuptial promise between a bride-to-be and a yeshiva student - and expands into something far more sweeping and sinister: the yeshiva student vows that he will harness the power of the spiritual realm via Jewish mysticism and inhabit the young woman's body at any cost. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
This film is the second effort to bring to the screen the 1880 Henry James novel of the same title (the first was The Heiress in 1949). Set in 1850 among the aristocracy of New York, Washington Square examines the inhibitions of Catherine Sloper (Jennifer Jason Leigh), the only child of wealthy Dr. Austin Sloper (Albert Finney). Catherine is clumsy and shy and something of an embarrassment to her high-class father. Dr. Sloper still unconsciously resents the child because her birth caused the death of his wife. He also disapproves of Catherine's attraction to Morris Townsend (Ben Chaplin), warning her that the handsome young man is after her money. He takes Catherine to Europe and warns her to break off her relationship with Morris, but she defies him. Townsend proposes, and Catherine accepts despite her father's threats to disinherit her if she marries him. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jennifer Jason Leigh, Albert Finney, (more)
This historical drama, directed by Agnieszka Holland, focuses on the rocky relationship between the renowned 19th century French poets Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine. Rimbaud (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a teenage wunderkind known for his rebelliousness against conventional society and his surrealistic writing. He disrupts the life of Verlaine (David Thewlis), a more conventional writer who is older and married to a dutiful young wife, Mathilde (Romane Bohringer). The drunken Verlaine is unkind to Mathilde, even though her father is providing him with a house and an income to live on while he pursues his writing. Rimbaud overwhelms Verlaine, mocking his conventionality, constantly disrupting his domestic life, and somehow attracting the maniacal love of the older man. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- Leonardo DiCaprio, David Thewlis, (more)
- 1994
- R
The concluding chapter in filmmaker Krzysztof Kieslowski's "Three Colors" trilogy, Red stars the luminous Irène Jacob as Valentine, a young student and fashion model who befriends a bitter former judge (Jean-Louis Trintignant, his character a proxy for Kieslowski himself). Their accidental meeting is just one of the many chance encounters woven through the narrative fabric of this feature, the most accomplished effort in Kieslowski's highly ambitious series. Like its predecessors, Red corresponds to a color of the French flag, as well as the color's symbolic attributes. The subject here is fraternity, and indeed, its central characters are all closely connected, their destinies locked on a collision course. The film's final scene even ties up the trilogy by bringing together the protagonists of the other features. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
- Starring:
- Irène Jacob, Jean-Louis Trintignant, (more)
- 1993
- R
The first chapter in Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieslowski's "Three Colors" trilogy, Blue stars Juliette Binoche as Julie, the lone survivor of an automobile crash that killed her husband, a famed composer, and their only child. Despondent, Julie attempts suicide, but she cannot bring herself to take her own life. Instead, she sets about starting over, purging all remnants of her former existence in an attempt to sever her ties to the past. A piece in the trio of films loosely inspired by the colors of the French flag and their corresponding symbolic qualities, the basic focus of Blue is liberty. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
- Starring:
- Juliette Binoche, Benoit Regent, (more)
The 1993 remake of The Secret Garden is a rendition of the classic Frances Hodgon Burnett novel about a young girl (Kate Maberly) who discovers an abandoned garden on her uncle's large Victorian country estate, as well as an invalid cousin she didn't realize she had. With the help of a local boy, the girl sets out to restore the garden and, once it is blooming again, she discovers it has magical powers. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kate Maberly, Heydon Prowse, (more)
- 1992
- R
Olivier, the nine-year-old son of a country veterinarian, vanishes one afternoon on the way to his grandmother's house. The emotional aftermath of his disappearance sends his father packing from France to Africa and nearly destroys his mother, who clings to her remaining child, Nadine, and her devoted neighbor, Marcel. Several years later, having relocated to the city, the police investigator who handled the case meets a Paris rent boy whom he believes to be the missing Olivier. Once he returns to his rural home, the teenaged Olivier tries to assuage his mother's now-entrenched grief and heal the rift between his reunited parents. Meanwhile, he must overcome his brooding, adolescent sister's jealousy and doubts about his identity and reconcile his sleazy street life with his picturesque new surroundings. Questions about the tight-lipped Olivier's true motivations continue to crop up, however, threatening to send his mother over the edge for good. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi
- Starring:
- François Cluzet, Brigitte Roüan, (more)
This drama was based on the true story of a young German Jew who survived the Holocaust by falling in with the Nazis. Solomon Perel (Marco Hofschneider) is the son of a Jewish shoe salesman coming of age in Germany during the rise of Adolf Hitler. In 1938, a group of Nazis attack Solomon's family home; his sister is killed, and 13-year-old Solomon flees to Poland. Solomon winds up in an orphanage operated by Stalinist forces; when German forces storm Poland, Solomon's fluent German allows him to join the Nazis as a translator, posing as Josef Peters, an ethnic German. In time, "Peters" is made a member of the elite Hitler Youth, but since Solomon is circumcised, he can be easily revealed as a Jew, and he lives in constant fear that his secret will be discovered. Solomon's close calls include an attempted seduction by Robert Kellerman (André Wilms), a homosexual officer, and his relationship with Leni (Julie Delpy), a beautiful but violently anti-Semitic woman who wants to bear his child for the glory of the master race. Europa, Europa (shown in Europe as Hitlerjunge Salomon) also features the real Solomon Perel, who appears briefly as himself. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marco Hofschneider, Julie Delpy, (more)
- 1990
The life of Polish pediatrician Janusz Korczak (Wojtek Pszoniak) is the subject of Andrzej Wajda's docudrama. Also known as an author who wrote primarily for young readers, Korczak's name became legend as a result of the Jewish orphanage he established in Warsaw. When the invasion of the Nazis in 1939 forced him to move his students to the ghetto, he struggled on without provisions or adequate space, refusing to give in to Nazi pressures. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
- Starring:
- Wojciech Pszoniak, Ewa Dalkowska, (more)
- 1989
- R
One of the first films by Polish director Agnieszka Holland to gain international acclaim, this drama is a joint French-American production based loosely on the real-life story of the dissident Polish priest Jerzy Popieluszko. In the early 1980s, as the democracy and labor movement known as Solidarity was challenging Soviet authority in Poland, an outspoken priest, Father Alek (Christopher Lambert), defies martial law and continues to rally followers around the cause of Solidarity. The Soviet-controlled Polish government enlists a police official, Stefan (Ed Harris), to stop the priest. Stefan, a devoted party follower, finds that the only way he can silence Father Alek is to have him killed. Along the way, however, the priest has a profound influence on Stefan. Among those in minor roles are Joanne Whalley-Kilmer, Pete Postlethwaite, and Tim Roth. Holland would go on to direct The Secret Garden and Washington Square. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- Christopher Lambert, Ed Harris, (more)
- 1988
Maria (Liv Ullmann) and her actress friend Raquel (Cipe Lincovsky) react differently when both of their children are missing and presumed dead at the hands of military terrorists. Raquel moves to Berlin, while Maria continues the search for her missing child. She continues her search after the oppressive military regime is ousted, still hoping her child is not among the many dead. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Liv Ullmann, Cipe Lincovsky, (more)
- 1988
This political drama is taken from the classic story from Feodor Dostoyevsky, but liberties have been taken and many secondary characters eliminated. The author's condemnation of a godless society and his disdain of those who follow blindly to popular political causes remains intact. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jean-Philippe Ecoffey, Isabelle Huppert, (more)
- 1987
- PG13
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Anna's early scenes concentrate upon Czech refugee Krystyna (Paulina Porizkova), who arrives in New York in search of her idol, famed actress Anna (Sally Kirkland), who was denied reentry to her native country after the 1968 communist invasion. Unable to recapture her celebrity in New York, Anna is forced to go through a series of humiliating auditions conducted by insensitive directors who have no inkling who she is. She must also endure marriage to a self-involved music video director (Robert Fields). When Krystyna and Anna finally meet, each draws strength from the other, enabling both women to survive whatever indignities life has to offer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sally Kirkland, Robert Fields, (more)
This West German film was first released in 1985 under the title Bittere Ernte. Armin-Mueller Stahl plays a Polish farmer living under the wartime Nazi occupation. Stahl isn't too offended at the prospect of answering to the Germans; in fact, he has profited by confiscating the property of his neighbor, a wealthy Jew. His conscience doesn't disturb him until a starving Jewish woman (Elisabeth Trissenaar) stumbles onto his property. At first Stahl shelters her, but his baser instincts surface; she is in no position to refuse when he ultimately rapes her. She even comes to fall in love with Stahl--and kills herself when another woman moves in with him. Stahl survives the war with health and wealth intact, only mildly disturbed by the misery he has caused. This Oscar-nominated film was to have been lensed in director Agnieszka Holland's native Poland; upon the imposition of martial law, production was switched to Sweden. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Armin Mueller-Stahl, Elisabeth Trissenaar, (more)
- 1983
Based on a non-fiction bestseller of the same name by Rolf Hochhuth, Eine Liebe In Deutschland is about a tragic and forbidden love affair between Stanislaw, a Polish POW (Piotr Lysak) and Paulina (Hanna Schygulla) a fruit-and-vegetable vendor in a small town in Germany along the border with Switzerland. Their affair would have gone undetected except for the busybody women of the village, and when Stanislaw is picked up by a German stormtrooper (Armin Müller-Stahl) and brought in for a mock trial, he is given a chance to prove his racial purity and so perhaps escape execution. As for Paulina, she is ostracized by the villagers and imprisoned for consorting with someone who was not of the same high Aryan caste as herself. Depressing, yet politically relevant to Poland of the early 1980s, this film by acclaimed director Andrzej Wajda) is an effective and emotional statement on the nature of oppression. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Hanna Schygulla, Marie-Christine Barrault, (more)
In 1982, legendary Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda fled his homeland and relocated in France to direct this powerful story about the ethical boundaries of power and leadership, which had many parallels to Poland's volatile political situation in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Danton (Gérard Depardieu) and Robespierre (Wojciech Pszoniak) were close friends and fought together in the French Revolution, but by 1793 Robespierre was France's ruler, determined to wipe out opposition with a series of mass executions that became known as the Reign of Terror. Danton, well known as a spokesman of the people, had been living in relative solitude in the French countryside, but he returned to Paris to challenge Robespierre's violent rule and call for the people to demand their rights. Robespierre, however, could not accept such a challenge, even from a friend and colleague, and he blocked out a plan for the capture and execution of Danton and his allies. Wajda remained in France until 1989, when the collapse of Communist rule made it possible for him to return to his homeland. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gérard Depardieu, Wojciech Pszoniak, (more)
- 1982
Originally titled Przesluchanie, the Polish The Interrogation is rough sledding for anyone looking for an "easy" film about political oppression. Cabaret entertainer Krystyna Jadna has a habit of dallying sexually with high-ranking military officers. As a result, she is imprisoned and subject to a vicious interrogation by the secret police, who are convinced that Jadna's brief affair with an army major has fomented an anti-government movement. For 158 grueling minutes, we are shown the lengths to which Jadna's questioners will go to extract their notion of the truth-and the lengths to which the woman will go to cling on to her remaining shreds of dignity. Filmed in 1982, The Interrogation was almost immediately banned in Poland. It was not given an international release until 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Krystyna Janda, Janusz Gajos, (more)
- 1981
Hot on the heels of her Cannes Film Festival success with Provincial Actors, Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland put together the equally accomplished The Fever. Holland used the Andrzej Strug novel The Story of One Bomb as a springboard for an impassioned plea for freedom of expression and an indictment of government-advocated violence. As such, the film was banned almost immediately when martial law was imposed upon Poland in 1981. Slated for obscurity, the film attained worldwide attention when it was feted at the 1981 Berlin Film Festival, by which time Holland had moved to France. The Fever was originally released as Goraczka. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Olgierd Lukaszewicz, Barbara Grabowska, (more)
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