Aftermath (2012 film): Difference between revisions
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==Plot== |
==Plot== |
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The film is a contemporary drama.<ref name="Onet"/> It takes place in the fictional village of Gurówka in 2001. The story begins with the return of Franciszek Kalina ([[Ireneusz Czop]]) to his hometown in rural Poland after having lived in [[Chicago]] for decades. He learns that his brother Józef ([[Maciej Stuhr]]) is shunned by the community for acquiring and displaying on his farmland dozens of Jewish tombstones which he discovered had been used as paving stones in a now abandoned road. Against the growing opposition of the town residents, the Kalina brothers attempt to learn more about what happened to the Jews of the village. They later realize that half the residents murdered the other half. <ref>http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/aftermath-dares-unearth-terrible-secrets-651230</ref> |
The film is a contemporary drama.<ref name="Onet"/> It takes place in the fictional village of Gurówka in 2001. The story begins with the return of Franciszek Kalina ([[Ireneusz Czop]]) to his hometown in rural Poland after having lived in [[Chicago]] for decades. He learns that his brother Józef ([[Maciej Stuhr]]) is shunned by the community for acquiring and displaying on his farmland dozens of Jewish tombstones which he discovered had been used as paving stones in a now abandoned road. <ref>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marshall-fine/movie-review-iaftermathi_b_4169624.html</ref> Against the growing opposition of the town residents, the Kalina brothers attempt to learn more about what happened to the Jews of the village. They later realize that half the residents murdered the other half. <ref>http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/aftermath-dares-unearth-terrible-secrets-651230</ref> |
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==Cast== |
==Cast== |
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Revision as of 21:35, 1 December 2013
| Aftermath | |
|---|---|
 English-language film poster for U.S. theatrical release | |
| Directed by | Wladyslaw Pasikowski |
| Distributed by | Menemsha Films and Monolith Films |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 107 Minutes |
| Country | Poland |
| Language | Polish |
Aftermath (Template:Lang-pl) is a 2012 Polish film written and directed by Władysław Pasikowski. The fictional Holocaust-related thriller and drama is inspired by the July 1941 Jedwabne pogrom in northeast Poland in which the Jewish community of Jedwabne was murdered "by their Polish neighbors" with the complicity of Nazi German officials.
Plot
The film is a contemporary drama.[1] It takes place in the fictional village of Gurówka in 2001. The story begins with the return of Franciszek Kalina (Ireneusz Czop) to his hometown in rural Poland after having lived in Chicago for decades. He learns that his brother Józef (Maciej Stuhr) is shunned by the community for acquiring and displaying on his farmland dozens of Jewish tombstones which he discovered had been used as paving stones in a now abandoned road. [2] Against the growing opposition of the town residents, the Kalina brothers attempt to learn more about what happened to the Jews of the village. They later realize that half the residents murdered the other half. [3]
Cast
- Ireneusz Czop as Franciszek Kalina
- Maciej Stuhr as Józef Kalina, brother of Franciszek
- Jerzy Radziwiłowicz as the rector
- Zuzana Fialová as Justyna, granddaughter of Sudecki
- Andrzej Mastalerz as Janusz Pawlak
- Zbigniew Zamachowski as police sgt. Włodzimierz Nowak
- Danuta Szaflarska as the elderly herbalist
Production notes
The inspiration for Pasikowski to write and direct the film, which was originally titled Kaddish (the Jewish prayer read by those in mourning),[4][5] was the controversy in Poland surrounding the 2001 publication of Neighbors by Polish-American historian Jan T. Gross. According to Gross's historical research into the 1941 Jedwabne pogrom, Polish Christians had murdered the hundreds of Jewish residents of Jedwabne, contrary to the official history which held the Nazi occupying force accountable. Gross's account of the Jedwabne massacre was a jarring development for Poles, "accustomed to seeing themselves as victims during World War II," rather than the victimizers.<[6]
Nationalists opposed to these findings accused Gross of anti-Polish slander and misrepresenting the historical truth. At the same time though, it inspired among Poles "a new curiosity in Polish Jewish history," including for Pasikowski.[4] Pasikowski stated, "The film isn’t an adaptation of the book, which is documented and factual, but the film did grow out of it, since it was the source of my knowledge and shame."[6]
Over the course of about a decade, Pasikowski struggled to have the film produced. He encountered difficulties "securing financing for his controversial script" and "struggling with how to best approach what is, for many Poles, still a largely taboo subject."[4] Ultimately, it took seven years for producer Dariusz Jabłoński to receive backing from the state film fund for Aftermath.[6]
Aftermath was the first feature film produced by Pasikowski in a decade.[1]
Reception
Poland
In Poland, the film reignited the controversy about the nature of the Jedwabne massacre, which began with the publication of Gross's Neighbors. The film was praised by government officials and leading cultural figures, including culture minister Bogdan Zdrojewski, filmmaker Andrzej Wajda, and Polish film historian Malgorzata Pakier.[6]
Conversely, many nationalists were infuriated. The movie was condemned by "nationalist politicians, banned in some towns and excoriated on the Internet." The right-wing newspaper Gazeta Polska described the film as "mendacious and harmful for Poles." Wprost, Poland's largest weekly, ran a cover with Stuhr's image framed in a Jewish star, accompanied by the headline, "Maciej Stuhr — Lynched and Asking for It."[6]
Accolades
Aftermath has won a few awards, including the Yad Vashem Chairman's Award at the Jerusalem Film Festival in 2013,[7] Jan Karski Eagle Award in 2013,[8] and Winner - Critics Prize, Gdynia Film Festival 2012. It won two Polish Film Awards, Best Actor - Maciej Stuhr and Best Production Design - Allan Starski in 2013. [9]
See also
References
- ^ a b "'Pokłosie': zobacz zwiastun tylko u nas" (in Polish). Onet.pl. 27 September 2012.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marshall-fine/movie-review-iaftermathi_b_4169624.html
- ^ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/aftermath-dares-unearth-terrible-secrets-651230
- ^ a b c "In the Polish Aftermath". Tablet Magazine. 17 April 2013.
- ^ "A difficult film". Economist. 5 January 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "The Past Can Hold a Horrible Power". The New York Times. 25 October 213.
- ^ http://culture.pl/en/article/jewish-award-for-film-on-polish-secrets
- ^ https://prod3.agileticketing.net/WebSales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=58924~d3db9682-eca6-4bca-9785-d6cbb8accea5&epguid=9f7f5971-c21b-461b-a406-7978a92e0633&
- ^ http://www.filmneweurope.com/news/poland/107090-aftermath-scores-international-sales/menu-id-158