Edi

It's the best movie in 2002 for me. Today's life of almost everybody is in horrible rush, crying for more money, more fancy dresses, exotic food, faster cars etc. We forgot the meaning of true friendship, simple love, everyday devotion. The guy called Edi is very poor one, jobless, homeless, alcoholic. But he works on his own - he picks scrap everyday to feed him and handicapped friend, living with him in ruins. He smiles everydays, helps to smile other guys, tries to make the world around more happy. Edi falls in love very badly and he is faithful to the girl in really heroic way. That simple guy is great man. After the movie I was ashamed I ever complain on my own life.

Call to your girl and go to see this movie, it's worth your time!

I just got my hand on this great work of art. I laughed and I cried. This movie is now a NUMBER ONE on my list. I recommend it to all intelligent creatures. BIG thumbs UP.

Zbyszek from Phoenix Arizona

This film stands tall for its honest portrayal of humanity in the face of being used as a scape-goat. Edi deserves your attention - it will move you, make you angry, sad and possibly bring tears for both. It doesn't lapse into mere sentimentality however. A life-affirming experience. I watched it on DVD but relish the chance to see it on the big screen. The English sub-titles related the story without affecting continuity or plot, or removing any of the film's subtlety or nuances, found in its native Polish language.

The cinematography brought to life a Poland of two kinds - the harsh reality of city life and the pastoral beauty and salvation of the countryside. Poland's own transition since Solidarity seemed to be similarly mirrored. Edi's existence as an educated man forced into a seedy subculture in the city never compromises his own self-belief and therein the true hero lies. Wrongly accused of rape, his life is at the mercy of two crime-lords. Self-sacrifice as a means to redemption isn't Hollywood but that's where the humanity of Edi lies.

There are two film communities that carry special expectations for me. One of them is Polish film. Its probably not fair, but Kieslowski and Polanksi seem to be more than film geniuses. They seem to reflect a certain manifest spirit of the people that is coherent and close to the surface. One gets the illusion that Poland is a place where ordinary motions and lives are easily revealed as lovely, wound with an attractive, unornamented motion.

So any Polish film comes to me with the expectation that it will be special. I have just the opposite expectation for Czech and Hungarian films for instance. I expect them to simply struggle.

This is a film that let me down for the only reason that it is Polish. If you do not know it, there are events that don't quite matter. The thing is a sort of meditation on the perfection of placement within flows of hopelessness. Its all about grace in motion, and does some superb work in conveying the story cinematically. For instance, there are many high overhead shots of our two junkpickers moving gracefully, usually through dank urban residue. These are complemented by similar drifting shots from the side, many with portals and revealing planes.

So the man with the eye surely know what he was doing; and he is successful in giving us pure visual language that gets to the heart of the thing. Its not nuanced, woven in any way, so after a bit you wonder if this is all: a canvas with no paint. So its the guy with the pen that seems to have decided that a simple tone is good enough. So what you end up with is something not worthy of Poland, an art film that can serve as a date movie is your date isn't deep enough to be interesting.

There are some story knots: the ex-girlfriend and his brother; the tales of a past untold; the small laughs about junk. But it could have been a film that mattered.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

I was a little bit far from praising this movie on the base of people's opinion. Had to go to the cinema and watch it by myself and despite of sitting next to a very special woman i was able to take a lot from this production:). here it is what i mean...

It ain't any of those Hollywood crap, nor u won't find here astonishing fx/play/even plot & surrounding. it's just the longer you watch it, the more you feel the sense of this movie. what is it? maybe parabolised reality ? or maybe it's not parabolised at all - simple, pathetic, dull & dirty, but still worth of cope with it. there's popular way of thinking "you are tough if you can fight the fate", actually the main character shows, the real heroism is to dare & want to live accepting the pain, misfortune & life just as it is.

There is no need to tell you what's the movie about-if you like independent productions, don't afraid to feel, think intensively just go to the cinema, you won't regret.