Spoor

SPOOR (Pokot) was a Competition film at the2017 Berlin film festival. My festival day started with a trip to West Berlin to see this Polish competition entry at the lavish ZOO Palace theater, the most luxurious movie house on Earth at this moment. Agnieszka Holland's SPOOR, (Polish, Czech, Slovak co prod) takes place in a village in Southern Poland near the Czech border. It was (for a change) a very good competition film after a string of losers, with an unusually strong performance by Agnieszka Mandat (64) as Duszejko, the older woman who lives alone with her beloved two dogs, Whitey and Leila. When they disappear mysteriously she sets out on a crusade to stop the murder of animals in this wildlife rich region. The heavy in the film is the local priest..During a church sermon where he is basically defending the right to kill animals on religious grounds she gets up and berates the assembled congregation with the words "How can you listen to this bullshit!" and storms out. A film that Brigitte Bardot will love as will all animal lovers everywhere. Agnieszka Mandat could be a strong contender for an actress Bär in a Berlin competition slate rich with strong feminine roles. Another strong entry in polish director Agnieszka Holland's extremely varied filmography. Ms. Holland, now 68, began her career in Poland as an assistant to Andrzej Wajda then left Poland to flee Communusm and made many landmark in English with top international stars. Holland is arguably the outstanding woman director active in the world today.

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.

"Once upon a time, far away from here, there was a cute Old lady, very very fond of animals...." Spoor is a cruel tale of our days in which there is no lack of Little Red Riding Hood, The Wolf (both in disguise) and many hunters; but the originality is that the role of all of them is in reverse. We have such a beautiful ending that is not real. In this story we are shown the utmost consequences of two extremes radically opposed; we are shown on the one hand the excessive love for hunting and abuse of animals and on the other hand what can be the most extreme extent in the defense of animals, namely: some men kill animals and those who are against all that and oppose, can even kill men. Spoor is a Tale for people of today and culturally affecting many countries traditions, and above all with many aspects to think seriously about.

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).