A Polish man who returns home after the death of his father unearths a secret about the now-deceased Jewish residents of his village.A Polish man who returns home after the death of his father unearths a secret about the now-deceased Jewish residents of his village.A Polish man who returns home after the death of his father unearths a secret about the now-deceased Jewish residents of his village.
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No comment. you just have to see this movie, no matter what you think. With Kind Regards, B. Radziszewski
Brilliantly directed by Władysław Pasikowski, the first act of the film is kind of slow, less informative & tells a completely different story than what's presented in the second & third acts. Nicely photographed, superbly acted, finely scored & becoming potent in the middle of the story from where it feels like this film will explode any moment & eventually does when the devastating secrets about the fate of the town's Jews are finally revealed.
On an overall scale, Aftermath (Pokłosie) could've been a better film if it had used a more tighter narrative but nonetheless manages to achieve what it set out to do & brings on the screen a horrifying secret that many around the world still aren't aware of and ends up delivering an even more powerful punch that won't be easily forgotten. Undoubtedly deserving a wider global audience, Aftermath is one film you shouldn't miss out if you're game for Holocaust-related cinema.
Two brothers find themselves at the heart of the story, which begins as a some type of thriller/conspiracy the likes of which we have seen before. For a while the spirit of "Chinatown" comes to mind, and a beautifully crafted film slowly unfurls a narrative where the mystery expands, the cast of the dueling parties grows as new layers are revealed, and eventually the film combines elements seen in old fashioned thrillers, horror movies, and even a touch of noir here and there.
What takes the film to a higher category is that what we see here has basis on real historical events, and as we realize this, our souls hurt because the pain is too much, and it might be that there is the possibility that we can become one of the parties involved. After all, free will has always been at the core of the worst human decisions in history. Either we want to destroy, to save, or to remain quiet and allow the evils to continue and grow. Liars have for years assisted those who either killed or stole, and they condoned quietly the actions of others by not interfering.
Films like these makes us remember how ignorant we are, in many different degrees by either not learning enough, not being willing to change and by not facing what really exists in our own souls.
My review about this movie...it's not a thriller. It's a puzzle. It's an in-depth thought provoking movie that every person alive needs to see. Santayana wrote (in The Life of Reason, 1905) "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." I had no idea this happened in many cities and villages throughout Europe and beyond. IF these stories are not told, even on the simplest terms, our children and future generations are condemned to repeat it. The movie may be a slow go but it is a well acted and well written movie with a haunting soundtrack.
God help the souls who choose to forget the past. We have a very real evil living among us and this could certainly happen again, at any moment.
I was not aware of Poland banning this movie. As a matter of fact there were some Poles (too many) that sold out Jews to Germans. There were many (too many)Poles executed along with the whole family for hiding Jews.
In Yad Vashem majority of trees, symbolizing those who saved Jews, have Polish names. As a matter of fact most of these trees symbolize Polish families. It should be many, many more, but some Poles decided to take an award from God, never from people.
My father was risking his life by smuggling grain in a street car passing through ghetto. The bags were hidden in the motor compartment and at some secluded spots he was ripping these bags open. Little kids were swarming around grain and quickly filling their cans. For them it was the only meal the whole family could have. I don't think he ever heard "thank you" for doing it, however he enjoyed living the life of a decent man.
Did you know
- Quotes
Franciszek Kalina: So, what made you do it?
Józef Kalina: Beats me. So many things aren't right, but we live with them anyway because there's nothing you can do about it. But I think that some things are more wrong than others. It's like, you see a guy lying drunk in the street, you walk on by, 'cause you think, "He's drunk," and you got your own problems and all. But when it's a child lying there, you just can't walk by. Understand?
Franciszek Kalina: Go on.
Józef Kalina: The Germans destroyed that cemetery. I can't help that, I wasn't even born then. They paved the road with gravestones, now that's very wrong, but I didn't know about that either. It was only when folks started talking about covering up that old road with asphalt that I thought, "No way." At first I hoped the county would do something, but then I saw people driving up and down the road, all happy that it's nice and even.
Franciszek Kalina: I understand all that, but why you? We never had anything to do with the Yids.
Józef Kalina: Beats me, I'm telling you I don't know why. It made me feel bad. I kept thinking, "This is wrong." What if someone tore up our parents' headstone and put it by the church door so folks wouldn't get their feet muddy?
Franciszek Kalina: Joziu, but these are total strangers. They're not even our people. Not to mention they've been dead 100 years. Your family's alive. Why should they suffer because of some Jewish foolery?
Józef Kalina: I know it's wrong, but I had to do it.
Franciszek Kalina: Jews in Chicago, I know what they're like... What was that about the church?
Józef Kalina: I found out that they laid some of the stones around the well.
Franciszek Kalina: Józek, don't even think about it.
Józef Kalina: Why not? The parish priest doesn't mind. He said I could take them away. That young priest's not too happy about it, but there's nothing he can do. The parish priest is on my side.
Franciszek Kalina: Just don't do it.
Józef Kalina: It's wrong, don't you see?
Franciszek Kalina: It'll end in tears, I'm telling you. What about those lumberjacks, huh? Think they beat you up for no reason?
Józef Kalina: Come on, that was about soccer. They wanted to know who I root for.
Franciszek Kalina: So you went and said Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Józef Kalina: They were drunk and looking for a fight is all.
Franciszek Kalina: [gets up from the table and holds Józef's face in his hands] Why should you, of all people, care about their dead?
Józef Kalina: Well, you know, there's no one left to look after them.
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Written by Jan Duszynski
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- Aftermath
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- Gross worldwide
- $1,696,330
- Runtime
- 1h 47m(107 min)
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- 2.35 : 1