The movie I am discussing is based on historical facts and is extremely brutal. I highly recommend it, it shows how hatred can happen between people and what it looks like in reality, but be warned - some scenes are more disgusting than in many horror movies.
"Wołyń" is probably the most anticipated film of the last year. For several reasons, mainly because it is simply not acceptable that EVERYONE (yes, the current one is not an exception in this case), the government of theoretically independent Poland, silences this topic. They do it for various reasons, mainly to "not spoil Polish-Ukrainian relations". This is material for a separate discussion, but the example of the Volhynia massacre shows very well that we are not a fully sovereign country. As for personal reasons, if my Grandmother had not been transported from these lands in due time, I might not be here today. It is also not right to forget about such an event. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying keep thinking about it, living in the past or anything like that. However, it is worth having a "light" at the back of your head that would remind you that such events actually took place. Bah! Despite theoretically greater "civilization", such things still take place in, for example, Africa (e.g. cutting clitoris, labia with blunt tools, because women cannot feel sexual pleasure) or in Asia, where the communist regimes there, which have evolved in a more brutal way than those in Europe.
Wojciech Smarzowski is known from films such as: "Dom Zły", "Drogówka" or "Róża". They are distinguished by alcohol pouring in a large amount and a dark, heavy atmosphere. about the Volhynian Crime. Genocide, which left a terrible mark on our nation. One of the many blows that was supposed to break our "fighting spirit" and kill the citizens of our country. I don't want to tell the story of the "Volhynia Massacre" here. One that I have too little historical knowledge to do it, two, this one link "will say more than a thousand words" -> http://wmeritum.pl/362-sposoby-upa-mordowanie-polakow/33331 I will say this. I believe that I have quite a rich imagination, but these methods of murdering Poles are so brutal that they simply overwhelm me.
I like the style of Smarzowski. Fast cuts, giving more dynamics to individual scenes, changing frames, presenting the characters in difficult conditions. It does it really well with no cuts to the crime scenes (with some exceptions) and shows a lot of things very literally. There are no many ways to kill Poles, but the ones we saw were, however strange it sounds, "satisfying". It was not mock brutality, the actors perfectly conveyed the terrible fear and piercing pain that the victims felt. The duration of individual sequences of fatal torture is also sometimes too long. All this is rewarded by the excellent atmosphere of terror that was masterfully built by Wojciech Smarzowski. Disgrace, contempt, misunderstood nationalism, official discretion, mutual provocations and "pinching" turned into scenes full of genuine terror.
When it comes to actors, basically almost all characters should be mentioned, even those from the 2nd or even 3rd plan. I haven't seen the actors, these people really (mostly) felt great about the roles they played. Not to mention the well-presented local folklore, traditions and everyday life in the borderlands, which perfectly complemented the actors' skills. The wedding scene is also very well shot.
Michalina Łabacz did her best to present the next stages in the life of young Zosia. From happy moments, shorter and shorter, though sad, worse and longer moments, days, weeks with each successive ... We follow the action in the film "Wołyń" mainly from its perspective. At first, I was reluctant to do it, but in the film it turned out really well. We see him taking successive blows from fate, and each next one is getting more and more painful.
Arkadiusz Jakubik played really exceptionally well and in my opinion, it is one of the best roles in his portfolio. He used his voice very well. I especially liked the episodes when he held the position of Sołtys and returned home after losing the war. In the first case, you could feel a confident, loud voice, while in the second, it played the role of a military defector and an ordinary, unobtrusive man.
I also liked the episodic role of one of my favorite Polish actors, Janusz Chabior ("Special Services" "Pact"). He played the role of a local pastor well. Wojciech Zieliński, known in "Wołyń" as Captain Janusz Cerat, was in my opinion the weakest link. Basically, that was the only role that really caught my eye, other than that, it's fine.
As for the scene with Polish revenge, I got the impression that it was a bit strange. As if ... "forced"? I don't know how to define it, it seemed so forced on me. And from what I read (but maybe I have not read it, so if I am wrong, please correct it), there was no retaliation in this form from the Polish civilian population. Some "Cursed Soldiers", who turned out to be beasts similar to those of the staunch followers of the damned Stepan Bandera, were another matter. Of course, most of the "Stalwarts" were heroes who were often subjected to cruel torture (e.g. one of the favorite Soviet tortures - punching 4 Poles on a stool ... or hanging the battery <no, not so "light" as we have now, is " Little Mickey "compared to what they hung on their gonads> on what you know), but it's also worth remembering that the story is not black and white. Especially ours is very "fucked up." Not one patriot has a "Red" in his family and not one "System Man" has "an ugly nationalist and a fascist." It was very good for Smarzowski to show this gray with different shades of black and white.
In my opinion it could have been a better movie, but I don't feel completely disappointed. It will become one of my favorite Polish productions. Smarzowski showed his class again and shook the viewer to the blood. I am glad that thanks to this film more is said about "The Volhynian Crime". This story has been covered up for too long. I am grateful to the director that he completed this project despite the difficulties and lack of support, while at times even the largest movie closet received an injection of cash from the state. Fortunately, it is completely invisible. I hope that the Banderites, who are still alive, will be damned, and a few are said to have survived.