Poland, just like Ghana, earned my wrath by eliminating a country that I had previously written a critique for. Thanks a lot you deplorable bastards! Now that I got that out of my system, let’s proceed.
One of these days I really need to conduct a deep think on why certain films have a mysterious, unintelligible hold on me that’s deeply felt to the degree where I’m compelled to watch them. This doesn’t happen for most films whose existence I gather, only a select a few. Is there something about the DVD cover art, the synopsis, the photos of the actors and actresses that I see on IMDB that inexplicably makes me want to watch Krzysztof Krauze’s 1999 crime thriller? Dług isn’t a particularly well known film in my country and I’ve see few articles even discussing it. But then again maybe this is part of the appeal. I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for films that tragically fly under the radar. And what’s really strange is that I don’t necessarily desire for these films to gain significant amounts of exposure. I’ve always held the notion that it’s more enjoyable to watch a great film when you have no prior warning of its outstanding merit. There’s a sense of unexpected discovery to such films that makes the experience of watching them much more fun. And this is one of the biggest problems with modern film writing. Every time a writer or critic sees a film they that enjoy immensely, their initial desire is to commit an effort to make the film culturally significant enough to where such ‘discoveries’ are nearly impossible. Trust me, if you should ever go into a film with the prior knowledge that hordes of other people thought it was great, then the fun is already over. And while I have no problem with anybody who desires to watch a film that I’ve written about during this project, I would offer a different course of action. I would suggest to watch a film from these countries that few people even know about it. When you find a film that really strikes a chord with you, it will be worth it.
As for my selection, the film was screened at a few film festivals around the turn of the century. Outside of this I doubt that it’s been seen in many American theaters. TLA Releasing acquired the US rights for home media distribution and made the film available on both VHS and DVD back in 2004. Streaming options for this title are non-existent, well at least they are for the more ‘well-known sites’. Copies of the film though can be purchased online or rented out from Facets. As for libraries, according to worldcat.org, there were 3 copies being held at libraries within 40 miles of where I live. One library had the VHS version, the other two were holding DVD copies. You can go ahead and mark Poland as a ‘library country’ if you wish.
Early on I couldn’t help but notice the warm, slightly faded aesthetic of the film’s imagery which was complemented by a lighting arrangement that offered sharp contrasts in light. For instance the scene of Adam’s father reciting the poem was lit in a near angelic manner with darkness lingering on the periphery of the shot. I suppose though that one could interpret the dark edges as an interesting thematic choice given the film’s narrative, to say nothing of the ambiguity of characters who were cast in both darkness and light. As with most stylish touches that get employed in a consistent manner, I grew comfortable with this aspect to the point where it had little impact on me. What left a deeper impression though was the camerawork itself. The film appeared to favor hand-held shots with tons of movement and fewer jump cuts. The movement itself was not always particularly graceful as evidenced by the one hospital scene where the camera pans were executed far too swiftly. Furthermore in the scene where Gerard paid a visit to Stefan’s debtor the viewer was greeted with swirling camera pans and some poor staging of the performers, although the chaotic quality of how this was shot complemented the action beautifully. Even when it lacked a certain professional polish, I liked the fluidity of the camera movement and surprisingly this didn’t hinder the framing and staging all that much. Consider the scene where Jola arrived at a bar and ran into Basia. Here the upward camera pan created a shot of the two characters that was remarkably well framed. The scene of Gerard punching Adam was also noteworthy in that there was no cutting in this sequence, as the camera simply utilized a modest camera pan to maintain its focus on Adam. Often the camera was staged as a mere unconscious observer who had to react to the action as a human being might, reflecting a style that perhaps has gone out of style in contemporary times, but which I still tend to enjoy.
Beyond this the film was not completely devoid of artistic flair as seen in the exquisitely framed split shot of Adam’s apartment that showed both the main living space and the kitchen. Another memorable sequence was the way the camera would tilt in coordination with Stefan’s movements with the steering wheel. Adding to this sense of fun were numerous Dutch angles and peculiar twisting camera pans to open a scene. The winter staging of the outdoor shots also added an appropriately bleak and foreboding tone to the film. The film was also edited well to provide a good pace to the narrative exposition. The deeper one progressed into this film, the more varied the overall cinematographic approach was and I generally liked the decisions that were made. For instance during an early restaurant scene between the two couples the use of camera pans to bounce back and forth was a better fit for the cheerful nature of this gathering. Meanwhile, the banal use of cutting between reverse shots in the scenes between Gerard and the businessmen was a more natural choice to support the more gravely dramatic tone of such meetings.
Regardless of either approach, both did plenty to support the acting in the film. The former allowed for a more organic, continuous feel to the acting while the latter framed more intimate shots that put some emphasis on the physical aspect of the performances. While I thought the overall acting was bland and perfunctory at times, especially early in the film, it was the small subtle touches in the performances that Dług often got right which enhanced both the story and the film as a whole. For instance I loved the sense of relief that both Adam and Stefan expressed late in the film when realizing that it was Tadeusz who had called them. This nuance did a great job of establishing the fear that both characters constantly lived with.
In the scene were the business partners rejected Gerard’s final offer, Andrzej Chyra in the role of Gerard, offered a certain sternness and understated anger when he handed them his bill. Chyra then deftly transitioned to a more helpless tone as Adam left, as evidenced by the slight pause in his speech when explaining that he was commissioned. I also liked his desperate pleading as Stefan left, as well his very begrudging handshake was which a great finishing touch to the scene. This served as a great template for Chyra who generally expressed Gerard’s ruthlessness in a rather calm, yet decidedly straightforward manner. Chyra still played the role with enough personality and charm that Gerard didn’t seem particularly evil at the onset. There was a distinct efficiency in his villainy that made the character all the more spurious.
During the final business meeting between Gerard, Adam and Stefan, it was also interesting to note that the pair couldn’t even look Gerard in the face when rejecting his offer, showing a bit of their spinelessness. I thought Robert Gonera as Adam and Jacek Borcuch as Stefan both did a great job of injecting the film with a great deal of dramatic intensity once their characters realized that they were caught in an extortion scheme. They really had to sell the idea that they were in serious trouble and did so convincingly. Gonera though really stood out here with how physically expressive his performance was. I like his short smirk of laughter when reacting to Gerard’s claim that he owned him money. Another interesting aspect of the performance was his joyous leg kick after getting the collateral for the scooter project. But his performance hit its zenith with his sorrowful look of anguish in the scene where Basia refused to talk to him, which was impeccably shot. Beyond this Gonera’s commitment to getting the minor details of the role correct was best exemplified by his sudden sense of dread when seeing Gerard at Tadeusz’s place. This was exactly what one would expect from the character and Gonera’s performance here was just flawless. Borcuch by contrast was more stoic and reserved in how he played Stefan, offering less exuberance to the film, but yet he still did solid work. One aspect of his performance that really stood out for me was Borcuch’s thoroughly unnerving twitch of revulsion after witnessing the murders. I also thought he reacted well to Adam’s comment about how they should not pay off Gerard. The fact that the duo did things behind each other’s backs allowed the acting to incorporate greater levels of subtext, which both ably took advantage of. I also thought Borcuch was more skilled at quickly shifting to a more dramatically intense tone, and strangely the scene where he convinced Jola to leave was the best example of this.
There were also good performances from the supporting cast. Cezary Kosiński did well in the small role of Tadeusz, performing his material with great verve and conviction. While the character seemed initially designed to bring some comedic relief to the film, Kosiński was every bit as talented at conveying dramatic intensity as the two leads. Joanna Szurmiej as Basia, balanced things a bit by bringing some tender emotion to the story. While she wasn’t particularly noteworthy in the beginning, Szurmiej did excellent work with her character’s change to a more contemplative, suspecting tone in the film’s second half. If anything it was the deeply felt emotional nature of her work at the end of the film that made the story’s conclusion incredibly bittersweet. Even though Jola wasn’t crucial at all in regards to the main narrative and remained completely oblivious to what her partner was involved in, I can still appreciate the charm and personality that Agnieszka Warchulska brought to the film due to the offbeat and gregarious manner in which she played the role. Warchulska achieved a great deal of presence in every scene that she was in and authored one of the best examples of how to make the most out of a minor role in a film. Warchulska’s performance was a microcosm of the film as a whole, in that the acting possessed its share of charisma even when it wasn’t all that compelling.
Of course the main source of intrigue would be the narrative itself. While the main premise of businessmen attempting to iron out the final details of their partnership wasn’t particularly engaging all by itself, I enjoyed the gradual way in which these difficulties escalated. The film got the progression and development of the narrative completely correct. The more Gerard pulled his potential partners deeper into his shady criminal ventures, the greater the tension that the film was able to express. And this proceeded to a point where a deadly reckoning was perceived as inevitable. While this could potentially render the ending as predictable, the film actually did a good job of setting up the dramatic climax in a way that made it modestly surprising. Ultimately one had to ponder whether or not Gerard pulled the duo in too deep. I should also give the film credit for the lengthy epilogue that delved into the personal sense of regret that both characters felt in the aftermath. It was clearly committed to surveying the anxiety riddled space of time between the crime and the punishment before arriving at an ending that felt like an homage to Dostoevsky.
From a moral perspective Dług presented a very complex and thought provoking situation that certainly is worthy of debate. Unlike other crime thrillers though there were no clear cut heroes and villains. In fact I would argue that the film went beyond most other entries in this genre in that it aimed to generate sympathy for those who committed heinous acts of brutality while simultaneously generating scorn for the victims. While it could easily be said that nobody was truly innocent here, the perspective in the narrative suffered from what I like to call a survivor’s bias.
For films like these that are based on actual events, one should consider that the perpetrators of such crimes get to reflect back on the events later in life and shape the narrative to their own perspective, while the victims were incapable of being afforded this same benefit. I perceived the moral quandary that the film presented as one which was unbalanced and prejudiced towards producing certain modes of thoughts. I did not step away from this film and thought that I knew enough about the actual lives of Artur Bryliński and Sławomira Sikory to pass judgment on them and nor should anyone else who simply watched the film. If there was anything of note to take away from this film it was the way it so seamlessly blurred the distinction between a man of business and an outright gangster. I would rather ponder the question of whether or not there exists within the realm of business a lurking evil that endangers the moral decay of all of its practitioners than to consider the mere justification of the acts that were committed. Apart from the one-sided treatment for the story though there’s honestly little to complain about here. I thought this was an exceptional piece of film-making.