300 Milhas Até o Céu

What a great movie. It was recommended to me by a friend whose family escaped communist Poland in the early 1980s. Having no notion of what life under such oppressive regime might be like, I watched the movie more out of respect to my friend than a genuine interest in the story. But it sucked me in completely. It was well worth the time. And stayed with me long after. What these two kids went through to help their family was truly moving. Also, it gave me a better understanding of what communism in Eastern Europe was like in the 1980s. Excellent acting. Very well done.

A moving story, indeed.

Freedom is a tough philosophical concept laden with hard meanings which do not make sense to most "employed people". As a crucial element of a person's daily life, freedom is essential for all citizens of the world as it enables everybody to realize their true potential. A key thing to note about freedom is that it takes a completely new meaning with the involvement of money in its significance. It can be surmised that Polish director Maciej Dejczer must have kept these things in mind when he shot "300 Mil Do Nieba". He has made one of the finest European films which deals with key questions related to money, danger, risks, immigration etc. The theme of east versus west has been nicely dealt with in this film with the dissemination of the underlying message that life is much better in west. This makes perfect sense to two young Polish boys who experience on a personal basis how corrupt officials ruin the lives of innocent people. The political system in the east is shown as a colossal failure as an essential activity of even getting a passport is subjected to unnecessary scrutiny. It is at this stage that this film's protagonists realize the importance of risk taking in order to become completely free. It came in the form of two young lads who move to the west after hiding themselves under a truck. Some structural changes were brought in the film. For example: Denmark represented West as if it had everything.Lastly,the benign presence of Polish actor Wojciech Klata is enough to bring smiles on one's face.

I believe this is an amazing and powerful film! This is one of the few films I have ever watched completely "without translation". It was so well made, that didn't matter to me. The photography, mood, lighting, atmosphere and the absolutely haunting music score had me totally absorbed. (Later, I managed to find a copy to purchase, and watched it with English translations)

And what can I say about the natural talent of the beautiful children in this film, and what their characters went through to try finding a better life somewhere! When it was over, I was counting my blessings. I never had to grow up in conditions anywhere near as harsh as depicted through the children in this story. The final few incredible scenes capture the very depth of human emotions. Seriously, those ending scenes hit me hard! Look closely at the faces of the two brothers as they sit beside each other. And, please don' miss the sign on the building right behind them! It's my opinion that "300 Mil do Nieba" is a Masterpiece!

"300 mil do nieba" tells the story of two brothers and a friend of the oldest, who decide to take their chances and try to get out of Poland any way possible. We end up having a sad little movie, that shows the terrible situation of the poor and oppressed.

The story is simple enough and basically follows the grueling journey of the two brothers since the moment they decide to go on the run together. Their family is poor, their father, a teacher, lost his job because he didn't obey the orders from above about how history should be taught, they also have two younger twins... They are being strangled economically and psychologically, and in their imagination, they see the United States as the dream land.

The movie is bleak. Not terribly, but it keeps dark, dirty and angry throughout the whole running time. The direction is simple but effective, and the acting, even if the children are not great, is acceptable enough that it doesn't become a negative. The music is beautiful and brings the story to life without making it very cheesy. However, there are some down points, like some breaks of pace that don't make much sense, and some jarring moments when the story jumps from one point to the other too much in a hurry.

Good movie, but it could have been better.

A very good portraiting of the absurdity of life under communism in poland. I particularly liked Jadwiga Jankowska-Cieslak's preformence as Mrs Kviatkovsky. I first saw this movie in the Jerusalem film festival of 1990 or 1991, and it is just as good now as it was back then.

Thumbs up.