Solidarity. (2005)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Joan Stein

Writer:

Eva Nagorski (writer)

Genre:

Short

Plot:

Set in 1982 communist Poland, a couple celebrates their wedding anniversary with their closest friends...

Plot Keywords:

Anniversary | Accident | One Word Title | Punctuation In Title | Beautiful Woman

Cast

Joseph Lyle Taylor	...	Andrzej
Erika Marozsán	...	Krysia
George Drance	...	Waldek
Camilla Enders	...	Agata
Oksana Lada	...	Kinga
Magdalena Mielcarz	...	Dorota
J. Tucker Smith	...	Kuba
Michael Stuhlbarg	...	Pawel
Marcel Wozny	...	Lukasz
Stelio Savante	...	Adam
Robert C. Kirk	...	Lead SB Agent
Spencer Chandler	...	SB Agent
Trevor Oswalt	...	SB Agent
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paul Frolov	...	Graffiti Artist
Timothy Gulan	...	Tomasz (Man on TV)
Zebediah Homisona	...	Graffiti Artist
Ryan Link	...	Graffiti Artist
Igor Litwinowicz	...	Waiter
Nina Polan	...	Meat Shop Babushka
Irma St. Paule	...	Flower Shop Babushka
Agata Wozny	...	Waitress

Runtime:

USA:22 min

Country:

Poland | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Hyphenated-Productions

Trivia:

The Nantucket Film Festival, 2005 The Rhode Island International Film Festival, 2005 Los Angeles International Short Film Festival (LA Shorts Fest), 2005 The Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films, 2005

An interesting short about a soon-forgotten time period in history

This short film was just posted on IMDb for viewing in the US, though hopefully it will be available in other countries for online viewing in the near future.

Although the film is set in Poland in 1982, the characters speak English. This is during the government crackdown on Solidarity and the Democratic movement, so the characters are not surprisingly on edge. After all, you never knew when the secret police would strike or even who was a member...perhaps even your neighbors or friends were in league with the repressive government.

This all comes to a head during an anniversary party. Times are tough and the food is meager, but a group of old friends still meets to celebrate life. However, when something unexpectedly happens, the group is not surprisingly thrown in chaos.

I applaud this film first for remembering these days under totalitarian Soviet domination. Despite only being a little over two decades ago, many have forgotten the struggle for freedom in Poland and the rest of Eastern Europe, so the film is a nice reminder of how things were. Additionally, the plot is very interesting--though perhaps not as much to people wanting explosions or action. Intellectually stimulating and well made--this film is a winner.