De Poolse bruid

Pleasant to watch. Subtle humor and a convincing love story. If I were to fall in love I'd like it to be in this manner.

I love this movie, but for slightly different reasons than mentioned here. I'm from the Netherlands, and I grew up in a village in the eastern part of Friesland, which is very similar to the countryside of Groningen.

Halfway during the movie I noticed there were tears in my eyes. Oddly enough, it wasn't during an emotional scene between the main characters. It was a shot of the countryside of Groningen. The scenery wasn't extraordinarily beautiful or anything. Yet somehow, it had managed to perfectly capture the feeling the Dutch countryside gives me whenever I'm visiting my parents.

And then I realized it wasn't just the scenery, it also was the slow pace of the movie, the lack of dialogue between the two main characters, or the lack of much happening at all during most of the movie. The solitude of the farmer's life, the gentle moments between the main characters, the two of them being all alone in their own little world.

That one of the characters was a Polish woman on the run from pimps is just a McGuffin, this movie really isn't about that. It's about the feeling of living on the north-eastern Dutch countryside. If cinematography feels a little odd now and then, it's because it's completely focused on capturing the feeling of being on a Dutch farm, the story and it's characters being less important.

People are remembered. Exciting events are remembered. What movie is about remembering the feeling of living at a certain place at a certain time? OK, and what if we're not talking about someone's memories of growing up? Yeah, those kind of movies are rare, aren't they? This movie is one of them, and one of the best.

When people are going to watch this movie in a couple of decades, if they're still capable of investing themselves into a slow paced, technically inferior movie with an unexciting storyline compared to whatever they'll be used to by then, they're going to experience what it's like to live the the sobering, lonely yet somehow also magical and sometimes beautiful life of a Dutch farmer and his Polish bride.

Coming from Holland, this movie is one of most unforgettable work teachers of the seventh art that narrates us a special history.

One night, Anna, a polish prostitute, escapes from two mafiosi, after being violated and hit. Henk, a dutch farmer finds her on the ground of in his lands, and decide to help her, to cure her, and giving a place her in his farm. Anna doesn't speak to Dutch, and Henk doesn't speak Polish. One of the communication methods that use is through the expressions. But Henk gives Anna a book in Dutch where she goes to learning the language. When being in the Dutch farmer's house, Anna works for the cleaning him the house, in exchange for money that then is send to her little daughter Krysztyna that is in Poland, and at the same time teaching him manners. But the dark times that her step, they return, since both mafiosi that bought her the they are looking for. Henk will make the possible to protect her. The love between both will reborn step by step. For her performance, Monique Hendrickx won the Best Actress Awards in Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema in 1999. Karim Traidia, dutch director of algerian origin, achieves a story that he talks about the love between two different people in culture. But the language is not everything, is only the feeling of both people, since it is said that the love surpasses all the barriers. My opinion: An advisable film that should see everybody. Excellent, Wonderful.

The developement of the relation between Anna and Henk is unusual, that's also the reason why the movie is interesting and -in a special way- exciting. Especially the non-dialogues between them, with different reasons for each person. Henk is introvert and doesn't speak Polish, Anna simply doesn't speak Dutch. But from the beginning of the movie I sensed some kind of love and care from Henk to Anna, and vice-versa. It's touchy to see their 'love & tenderness' growing. Very 'romantic', for those who want to see it!

It's not a movie with many spoken lines in it. After all the two main characters hardly speak the same language. The movie allows its images to mostly tell the entire story. I sort of always like this, since after all that's also how movies were intended to be in the first place. The great camera-work and compositions of course help with this. It also makes the movie a slow going one but this works beautiful and effective for the movie its story and storytelling. Still, because the movie is rather short, it tends to rush things a little, especially toward the end. It's also the reason why the movie ends sort of on a false note.

This movie is a real character movie. Almost the entire movie focuses purely on just the two main characters. The characters don't explain anything to each other about how and what. They just accept things as they are and don't look back, even though the both of them, as implied, had issues in the past. They are definitely not at love at first but they also most certainly don't hate each other. They slowly and steadily grow- and open up toward each other and also learn from each other, in many different ways. It doesn't make this movie 'just' another unusual love-story but something that goes deeper and therefor also gets more effectively shown on the screen.

The movie gives a good portrayal of the farm life and the empty flat real peaceful nature. I think it's a real missed opportunity from Dutch film-makers to not shoot more movies there. It's cheap to make, also since you don't have to close down any roads or shops or stuff like that and it's of course beautiful looking, which really gives the movie a lot of atmosphere without having to manipulate or set up anything. And abroad, people always seem to like these type of movies and these movies, with this kind of atmosphere, have a fair chance at the international market and festivals. After all, this movie even received a Golden Globe nomination for best foreign film.

I never thought I would hear an Ede Staal song in a Dutch, or just any movie. Ede Staal and his music are unmistakably connected to the entire province of Groningen. His songs are often about the province and they perfectly capture the life, feeling and atmosphere of the province. So, one of his most famous songs 't Hogelaand' totally fits within the movie, captures its atmosphere and what it tries to tell.

Jaap Spijkers is a good actor, although I admit that he is a better actor now then he used to be 10 years ago, at the time of this movie. Or perhaps it's just that he isn't really the sort of actor for the leading type of roles. Same goes for Monic Hendrickx by the way, who at the time still was a rookie in the movie business. He did a fairly good job with his accent, although people who are actually not from Groningen but play a Groninger character always tend to make the accent sound way too thick.

The movie is about some relevant issues, such as Polish woman being forced to work in the prostitution in Western countries, the hard financial situation and time for Dutch farmers and the slinking population, amount farms and shops in the rural areas.

The movie is currently getting an Australian treatment as well, named "Unfinished Sky", again with Monic Hendrickx in the same role. The story will probably work the same but will the atmosphere as well? Doubtful, which is a negative thing, since it mostly was the atmosphere that carried the movie and almost entirely told the movie its story and emotions.

A really great and also certainly unique and a one of a kind movie. The Australian version won't change that.

8/10

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