Ein Jahr der ruhenden Sonne

"The Year of the Quiet Sun" tells of the love which blooms with considerable difficulty between an American GI and a Polish woman in postWWII Poland(?). Unlike most war romance flicks where people virtually collide with each other driven by the stark desperation and deprivation of war, this film has the pair of protags (Wilson & Komorowska) spending most of the film's almost 2 hour run tentatively sorting through their pain and suffering to find feelings they can trust to be real. There's little doubt this is an excellent film. However, it is as depressingly barren as the ravaged landscape it occupies and for many will prove to be too real to be enjoyable. Not an escapist film, "...Quiet Sun" is for realists only. In multiple languages with subtitles. (B+)

Also known by its English-language title 'A Year of the Quiet Sun', this is a poignant and powerful depiction of the tentative and soulful romance that develops between a Polish widow named Emilia and Norman, an American soldier, who is involved in investigating apparent Nazi war-crimes in her small town in the immediate aftermath of World War Two.

Krzysztof Zanussi, though not as well-known internationally as his contemporaries, has crafted a heartbreaking and transcendental romance to rival the very best from Kieslowski and Holland. Directed with restraint and an observational eye, the movie establishes a tangible sense of place and time.

Set in contrast against the squalid grey landscapes, the interior scenes are bathed in gentle elegiac hues that mirror the melancholic warmth of the acting. Slawomir Idziak's cinematography certainly adds a mellow and heartwarming tone to proceedings. The soothing and gently romantic score of Wojciech Kilar lingers softly around the edges and complements perfectly the deftness of Zanussi's direction.

In many ways, the wistful compassion of 'Rok spokojnego slonca' reminded me of Clint Eastwood's 'The Bridges of Madison County'. Both romances are grounded very much in the unavoidable realities of life yet succeed in tenderly conveying the powerful dreams and hopes that deep love can engender.

As much as the technical aspects make this a film of considerable beauty, it was the subtle, heartfelt acting of Maja Komorowska and Scott Wilson that most touched me. The quiet dignity that Komorowska conveys as Emilia cares for her mother and ekes out an existence amidst the rubble proved deeply affecting. One wishes with all one's being that such a selfless and beautiful person as Emilia could find lasting happiness in life. The astonishing performance of the luminous Komorowska brought tears to my eyes. Her playing exhibits quite wonderful sensitivity and a sublime understanding and it is a portrayal I shall treasure being able to witness for as long as I live. 'Rok spokojnego slonca' is a movie of rare emotional depth and beauty and one that deserves to be seen for generations to come by cinema lovers the world over.

Krzysztof Zanussi's "A Year of the Quiet Sun" (1984) is a wonderful and unforgettable film. Zanussi's name does not come up often on these boards but he is one of the finest Polish and European directors who inspired the whole new generation of Polish filmmakers, including Krzysztof Kieslowski and Agnieszka Holland. This film is a lost treasure - I never heard of it; there is only one user's comment about it on IMDb. I saw couple of earlier Zanussi's films (The Structure of Crystal and The Constant Factor) but they could not prepare me for this one, another Landscape After Battle, the simple and quiet story of love during the time of suffering. The year is 1946, the place - a small war- ravaged town that used to be a part of Germany but now is a part of Poland. The Polish widow, Emilia (Maya Komarowskaya in a performance so powerful, intense, subtle, and shining - she reminds me of Liv Ullmann in her best roles) meets an American soldier, Norman (Scott Wilson of "In Cold Blood") who involved in war-crimes investigation. Both their lives have been cruelly disrupted by the worst War of the 20th Century. Norman has seen so much suffering and death (he was a prisoner of war) - it is not easy for him to return home but he feels that the woman he met by chance and with whom he has no common language and can only communicate by gestures or rely on interpreters, could be his partner and friend for life. Emilia, who has lost her husband after only a few months of marriage and struggles to survive while taking care of her ailing mother, questions herself if it is even "right" for a human being to look for love and happiness. Slowly, these two begin to realize that no matter what you lived and you've been through, no matter how unbearable the past was and how uncertain the present is, love is possible.

I found myself so involved in the story that Zanussi and his actors told; I wished so much for the characters to find peace and happiness together but I knew that it was not an optimistic Hollywood romance I was watching. I knew that it was one of the best romance films I was watching. The camera work by Slawomir Idziak (Black Hawk Down (2001), Trois couleurs: Bleu (1993),La Double vie de Véronique(1991), and The Decalogue (1989) is above any praise as well as the original music by Wojciech Kilar (The Pianist (2002), Dracula (1992)).

The film ends with a fantasy scene that takes place in Monument Valley, where John Ford shot his "Stagecoach", the only American film that Emilia and her mother saw and they mentioned it to Norman. Scott Wilson remembers that Zanussi and the Andrei Tarkovsky visited Monument Valley on their way to the Telluride Film Festival in 1983.

From Roger Ebert's review: "Both directors vowed to film there someday. Tarkovsky died before he could. Zanussi traveled to the valley with only his cameraman, his two stars, and Wilson's wife Heavenly as crew, and they filmed the ending, which is poetic in the way it visualizes the hope of the two lovers while reflecting the poignancy of their fates."

9.5/10

I needn't labour my reasons for admiring this magnificent work - the eloquent reviews already committed to this forum have intelligently and admiringly praised this great film for it's achievement in every department, and for it's quiet sublimity. I agree with every positive word written in this place.

'A Year of the Quiet Sun' is indeed something special: It is a humanist treasure - beauty brought forth from the universal and horrific darkness of the 20th century, truly a sun painted to put back up into a ruined sky, to shore up the ruins of our benighted world, patching the gaping darkness of our fallen and threadbare souls. To call this a masterpiece would seem somehow as shocking as applause during a church service: It is a profound meditation on the fate of humanity, and as such it is beyond praise. It is that rare thing, an artifice that brings reality into sharp focus, and gives us back a little of our lost immortality. A breathtaking achievement. A film for the ages.

Especial thanks are due to Netflix, by the way, for the commendable and valuable 'season' of neglected Polish films they are presently curating (November 2019), of which 'A Year of the Quiet Sun' is the most remarkable amongst several wonderful productions. Netflix, in this willingness to feature what are usually dismissed by popular streaming services as 'art house' movies, and which are as carefully avoided by traditional broadcasters in this commercial milieu, is performing a very valuable cultural service.