Spoor

Seen at the Berlinale 2017. Though it was marked "out of competition" for the Golden Bear, it deservedly got the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize anyway. Lead protagonist Janina is retired but still teaches English at a local school. Her pupils admire her, contrary to the school board who is less happy. She is a convinced vegetarian and frowns on hunting, which is the favorite sport of nearly all local villagers. Apart from her continuous struggle against needless hunting, there are also crime thriller elements involved when people are found dead from time to time without any tracks or other useful clues to help the police.

The movie is structured in chapters following the hunting calendar, something we see Janina stealing from the police office. She has frequent contacts there to file complaints over violations of same calendar. It is useless as the police does nothing about it, understandable with high placed policemen who are heavily involved in hunting themselves. Janina is persistent in her struggle for animal welfare, but her complaints are ignored. Her evenso persistent inclination to involve astrology in everything, hampers her believability and is often an excuse to send her away. And being an independent and retired woman (some think: useless) does not help either.

This movie is apparently about corruption, a popular theme in movies in former communist countries. It is a broader theme than only lust for money or a high position. Self-serving bureaucrats or bending rules for egoistic reasons, are also forms of corruption, maybe weaker variants but still. Clearly, the authorities (mainly the police) does not care much about enforcing rules around hunting, being heavily involved in hunting themselves, just like everyone in the elite. This includes the priest, who explains in one of his sermons how useful hunting actually is, actually a divine right given to humans. But Janina is not guiltless herself either, when she organizes a class "excursion" (that is what she calls it when a school administrator has comments) to find her missing dogs. It took place in the dark and within a forest, that is why her superiors are not amused. It may be a weaker form of corruption, I admit it, but still deviating from the rules and putting children unnecessarily at risk to serve her own private interests.

Director Agnieszka Holland won the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize for "opening new perspectives", awarded by the Berlinale 2017 International Jury. I'm at a loss what those "new perspectives" can be, maybe the fact that we are watching a whodunit thriller without noticing it along the way, that is until the nasty truth hits us near the finale. However, don't construe my being lost that I'm against this reward. The compelling story line throughout a bit over 2 hours, as well as how the lead performer carries the story, deserve a reward, whatever its earmark.

One of Agneiszka Holland's best films, "Spoor" is a kind of ecological thriller-cum-message picture, magnificently shot by Jolanta Dylewska abd Rafal Paradowski in the Kotlina Klodzka region of Poland. Agnieszka Mandat is superb as the middle-aged teacher with a passion for animals and at loggerheads with her neighbours, hunters all; then her neighbours start turning up dead... It's certainly an unusual story, one might even say far-fetched and its ecological message is laid on a bit thick at times but Holland still manages to get considerable mileage out of it making spectacular use of her locations and giving the animals their dues. Perhaps the best thing about the film is that, while its message is clear from the start, it's never pedantic or over-stated and finally it's as a good old-fashioned whodunnit that it really works, helped no end by a superb score from Antoni Lazarkiewicz. Seek this one out.

A great movie about a a strong yet gentle character who cannot accept people being cruel to animals or each other. She helps kids and mistreated women apart from her passion: wild life. She gets to know people in depth because she is open to them- never mind how she does it, the key words here are she does! The photography is exceptional too. Great acting! A refreshing movie for those of us who have been watching too many made-up/always-looking-perfect actors in Hollywood movies.

A fascinating film and offers a glimpse into post communist Polish society. I don't know much about Poland, I'm an American who has never visited Poland,, but from all that I've read and glean from the last 20 years , the corruption in communism didn't just disappear overnight with a change in government. It seems to be a problem for many Eastern European post communist countries. Highlighted here is not just the indifference and corruption of the police and the political establish meant , but also the horrible way in which wildlife is treated , but also, as a geriatrician, I think discrimination against elderly people is subtle and pronounced, not just in Eastern European countries, but also in the West. The brilliant acting shows the subtle ways in which the concerns of an elderly teacher are ignored, and even ridiculed. As to the anti-hunting bias, I'm not anti-hunting, in fact, hunters in the United States, are often strong conservationists, but I just think you did don't need to kill animals in order to enjoy nature. I used to have when I was young, long ago switched to wildlife photography.

As an animal activist I should say that this review is a bit biased... nevertheless I think this movie is worth a watch since its beautiful sorroundings and story of love of nature are most endearing.

Thus, if you're interested in a story of someone who suffers from the consequences of corruption and takes justice into their own hands you won't be disappointed. I dare say that, when you finish watching, you'll feel content and fullfiled since the movie's focus - fighting what's bad in society - is overall achieved (I wouldn't put it as a revenge story, more as a cleaning the dirt tale).