Witold

What a waste of so many outstanding actresses! We have seen them in other movies and we know that each of them can do much better. The director is incompetent, but the script even worse. The rule says one has to write at least 5 lines of text. However, how can one comment on emptiness?

I was quite surprised how low is the average evaluation of this film & also that nobody reviewed it before. This is a very nice film & strikingly original. I have seen shopping centers in as diverse places as Lviv, Rio de Janeiro (3 of them), Bangkok and Rouen, not to mention Denton, Texas. I have never seen before a film such that the action takes place almost exclusively in a shopping center. In ancient Greece there was the requirement of unity of the time (short time) and place (one place) in theater plays. In modern theaters and films this is considered a hampering limitation. The script author and the director of this film have turned the limitation to an advantage! The texts such as "Day 2" increase the suspense.

Nonna Grishaeva plays the main female role of Ira, a girl who ostensibly is at the bottom of the shopping center hierarchy, putting bar codes on packages and even sweeping a floor. She is cheerful, friendly to everybody & helpful to other shopping center employees, winning them over quickly. She soon has her designs on Vadim ... We find from Nonna Grishaeva's biography that she was born is Odesa and is now a very successful theater actress in Moscow, apart from playing in Russian films. This is clearly a loss to the Ukrainian theater and to Ukrainian film making.

Pyotr Fyodorov plays Vadim, doing also an outstanding job. Like Ira, Vadim is cheerful, friendly and helpful, but with a complicated past. He lives in the shopping center and ventures outside only in a dire emergency; only in a second part of the film we are briefly told why. In his private life he is very thoughtful, actually excessively careful. Trying to win him, Ira has to be very thoughtful herself - which fits her real nature not only the role she has assumed in the shopping center - as well as really soft as far as Vadim is concerned.

Other actors play quite well too. The real names of the actors are not connected to their roles, so here are some names of the roles: the actor playing Vova; the actress playing Lisa who quickly becomes a real friend of Ira & who is great in the scene "let Lisa out"; the actress playing Grandma Nina who actually is Vadim's grandmother by courtesy only; the actor playing Vitaly, a nasty character who in the beginning of the film as the shopping center manager cries "I can fire you all!"; the corrupt but quite funny official performing marriage ceremonies; the boy playing Misha.

The film is played in Russian with English subtitles. There is only one error when Vadim tells Ira "I can show you the cheque" when he means the receipt. Sometimes the translations are ingenious such as "Pushek" into "Fluffy".

This film can be currently seen on the Singapore Airlines flights between San Francisco and Seoul Incheon. Singapore Airlines provide a much larger choice of films for their passengers than most airlines. Flying from San Francisco to Incheon and back, I have see also a Canadian, a Danish and a German film. They were all good, but this film is a clear winner over them.

This film has been directed well, has good actors and a nice story. There are of course other comedies nice while you watch them. This one has more; there are serious issues to be pondered on after viewing the film. Should a single woman told repeatedly that she cannot give birth to a child consider adoption ? What is the point of view of a girl considered for adoption ? If the company the heroine Ama (Amanda ?) works for has very strict behavior rules, are there situations when breaking these rules is worthwhile ? At what price ?

This film presents a variety of points of view, all plausible, even though some of them contradict some other ones. Even a dog has an opportunity to present his point of view on an issue important to him: with whom he would rather stay ?

Anna Dereszowska has a difficult role as the main female character - precisely because she is not only a nice girl to look at but also a thoughtful person who is trying to make decisions. Jan Wieczorkowski as Marek is very good too, and also he faces difficult decisions.

Our DVD has the sound track mostly in Polish, there are English subtitles. Fantasy comedies aside, considering comedies coming out of Poland in recent years, this is one of my two favorites. The other one is "Darling, don't lie".

This is a nice film. As the director Krzysztof Lang says, the outcome in a romantic comedy is foreseeable - but how does end of the film come about is important. Thus, the viewer expects that Julka played by Karolina Gorczyca and Kacper played by Marcin Dorocinski will eventually get together - after perturbations. The perturbations are original. Kacper who is a photographer is strongly hit by the fact that photo editing (read falsification) has been used against him. A little scene in which Julka first time on the board of an airplane asks her neighbor to exchange a window seat for a middle seat is precious. So is a short scene when Weronika played by Olga Frycz says she intends to drop the fashions field and to study to become a veterinarian. Since Weronika is both Kacper's sister and his assistant at work, he is hit twice; he understands, however, and says: "The animals need you". The very thought that there is life outside the limelight of fashions is precious. ALL actors play very well !

For some reason the ratings of this film on IMDb are not high. One wonders why. Those who submitted their ratings are used to horrors from Hollywood and are disappointed that there are no massacred dead bodies ? The last question is of course a speculation on my part.

The important moment when Inge loses her voice is not very realistic - what classifies this film as a fairy tale. This is not a criticism; quite a few films, with "Pretty woman" as a classic example, present events which are not exactly probable while strictly speaking possible. What I like in this film is its atmosphere, which is also fitting into the fairly tale category. The action takes place in an unnamed town in Poland, the film creators do not provide us with the name of the town, probably deliberately so.

Inge carries this fairy tale atmosphere with her, not a small feat. Aneta Todorczuk in the role of Inge has to rely on her histrionic abilities other than her voice for a large part of the film. Jan Wieczorkowski whom we have seen as an organist in a series of films about a small town in north-eastern Poland not far from the border with Belarus has here the main male role - and he deserves it. We also see other very good actors: Magdalena Schejbal who played so well as Magda in "Darling, don't lie", Maria Gladkowska who was the unforgettable Dorota in "Emergency exit", Jan Frycz and Michal Lesien. Aneta Todorczuk is a new face (for this reviewer) as is Anna Chylarecka as the teenager Ania. Whenever she shows up, Ania nearly steals the show. Overall, we hope Ewa Pytka will direct more films.

Usually in films of this genre the mysteries are revealed just before the end of the film. Here throughout the film there are mysteries revealed at various times, often unexpectedly. In some cases we think a mystery has been already cleared - but then later a different explanation comes up. This has been done in films before, but then an earlier as well a later explanation have to be plausible; creators of the film have succeeded also in this respect.

The actors are wonderful. Maja Ostaszewska as Agata has a very difficult role - and she is convincing in all situations and at all times. Marek Bukowski as Slawek is very good too, as is Danuta Stenka, the same applies of course to Andrzej Seweryn - almost to them all.

A previous reviewer questions why a prosecutor gets involved in the crime investigation from the start - instead of the usual waiting for the police to provide enough evidence to charge somebody with the crime. However, here Agata has several strong motives to get involved early: the fact that this is her first criminal case after working in the white collar economic crime office; baffling circumstances of the case; the fact that she is the daughter of a law professor; and the fact that her law school classmate Slawek is the police inspector in charge of the case.

Before watching the film we have read the reviews: this is a continuation of the Irony of Fate 1, but a bad one; no, this is a good continuation; still different, this film should not be considered as a continuation. There is an 'objection' that a hero drives a certain car; was he supposed to change cars every 20 minutes to give "equal rights" to different car manufacturers ? There is another 'objection' that the heroes behave as they did in Part 1; should nice people now become nasty and vice versa ? There is a still different 'objection' to lights in the city and fireworks on New Year's Eve. Rarely one sees such a diversity of views, many mutually contradictory and some outlandish.

Now that we have seen Part 2, I can comment on it: on people, devices, locations and situations.

There are actors known before from Part 1: Barbara Brylska as Nadya; Andrei Myagkov as Zhenya; Yuriy Yakovlev as Ippolit; Aleksandr Shirvindt as Pasha (mostly Pavlik in Part 1); Aleksandr Belyavskiy as Sasha; as well as Valentina Talyzina as Valya. It was so good to see them again ! Now we also have Elizaveta Boyarskaya as Nadya Number 2, the daughter of the original Nadya; Konstantin Khabenskiy as Kostya Lukashin son of Zhenya; Sergey Bezrukov as Irakliy (note a carefully chosen name, similar to Ippolit). There are naturally more new faces, including Igor Savochkin as Kolya the Border Guard; he makes his unique contributions – largely because most of the time he is as confused as a hungry baby in a topless bar. While Nadya Number 1 now wears large glasses, her smile is the same as before. While Zhenya now has less hair, his smile is also the same as before.

As for devices, frequent use of cell phones makes this means of communication look nearly ridiculous. An original comic approach, while in more and more locations around the world there are limitations on the use of cell phones, including driving.

Obviously Apartment # 12 in House # 25 on the Third Constructors Street plays its role again, as does the elevator there. We also see again the train station from which trains go to Moscow as well as two airports. This helps the impression of continuity – as does music repeated from the first film (except for the song at the end which is new).

The situations are sometimes similar as before, but with interesting twists. It is not easy now to send Zhenya to St. Petersburg; this becomes a clever two parts operation executed by Sasha and Pasha. Zhenya starts to figure things out when Pasha phones to reserve "another" plane ticket. There are also new situations – well connected to Part 1. Nadya Number 2 is asked by Grandfather Frost to play his Snow Girl. She gets instant advice not to agree. However, in a wonderful twist of action, Nadya says: when I was five years old, I had to do things I hated; when I was 10 years old, it was the same; enough is enough; I agree. When one knows that Ippolit is her father and one knows his character from Part 1, the fact that he has been a despotic father is anything but surprising. Thus, events in Part 2 are admirably rooted in Part 1.

One sympathizes so much with Kostya - who can hardly get a moment alone with younger Nadya. One admires his ingenuity in creating opportunities to talk to Nadya. When Grandfather Frost walks into Nadya's apartment, one wishes that inside the costume covering largely the face should be Kostya. One hears later an explanation of the original Snow Girl: he agreed to take over and complete the Grandfather Frost route but on the condition that he will have his own Snow Girl. Incidentally, I recently learned something about Grandfather Frost: Santa Claus was strictly forbidden for a number of years in the Soviet Union – until Stalin found the tradition too strong and allowed him but renamed Grandfather Frost and wearing blue instead of red. The vote of five children on who should marry the Princess is new and fresh - in spite of centuries of fairy tales.

We have seen recently a US movie called "Fast Five", with virtually nothing left to imagination and much noise most of the time. Here both Part 1 and Part 2 have two levels; the amusing or moving surface level, but also a deeper level where the viewer has much food for thought. This is one more common feature of both films. Timur Bekmambetov as the director, Emil Braginskiy as the story writer – together with Eldar Ryazanov himself – have much to be proud of. One needs to say this: the richness of Part 1 has much helped the creators of Part 2 to make such a good film.

Let me provide at least an example of two levels in this film. Kostya asks: "are we in Moscow or in St. Petersburg ?". Younger Nadya provides a charming – but also a profound – response: Does it matter ?".

Usually a sequel is worse than the original film. The third in a series is typically still worse. Not so here. Each of these three films tells a different story - even though the characters that appear in two or in all three have consequently the same attitudes and lifestyles as before. In this third film in the series we have local politics: elections of the mayor of the town and of the town council will take place soon. The current mayor and his strong opponent both are seeking the support of the local Catholic priest: there is also an Orthodox church with a priest. The Catholic priest handles these situations in his unique way.

The actors are very good. Those playing the police chief and the Catholic priest we have seen before, they are as good as before, although before the first film in this series their experience was limited to providing voices in a marionette theater in Bialystok. The girl in the bank who fights off her admirers with "I am Orthodox" clearly has shining talent. The actor playing Stasio back-home-after-20-years-in-the US is a good addition, not seen in previous films. Emilian Kaminski who made his strong appearance in the second film as Jerzy Bocian is very good here also. In spite of these other good actors, in my opinion the show is stolen by Agnieszka Kotlarska who plays the policewoman Marina Chmiel. She provides feel- good moments, as in the scene when she is asked where her unusual first name comes from; she replies: "My parents liked a song that begins with that name". Actually, her role is quite difficult. Marina has a black belt in karate & functions well in combat-like situations. However, in ordinary situations she is quite shy, with men in particular. Talking to men, she sometimes falls into the area comfortable to her, like in the street scene in which she is telling the young policeman Marian about martial arts. When that topic of conversation is not possible, her shyness seems to overwhelm her; wonderfully played. Her sudden feeling for Stasio - after she has rescued him from thugs - is received by the viewer as quite natural & fits well with her character.

Our DVD has voices in Polish with subtitles in English and French.

Crooked politicians and crooked decision makers are funny ! Crooked lawyers helping crooked politicians are funny too. If you are not an object of their machinations, that is. However, you might be an object of nefarious activities; needless to say, you have then to figure out a way to beat the crooks. Since the devil needs to be fought with fire, former criminals are an asset against crooks ... We have in this film a nice combination of political satire, a thriller, a comedy - and a love story as well.

Actors in this film are great. Anna Przybylska carries well a difficult role. Edward Lubaszenko as Mirka's grandfather makes you smile every time, even if he says only a few words. Krzysztof Kowalewski as a cabinet minister shows many different faces. Cezary Pazura made famous by the two "Killer" movies is good too. Olaf Lubaszenko has created one more good movie.

"Darling, don't lie" is a comedy with bright dialogs, talented actors and views of Cracow as a bonus. Ania and Magda have met as small girls in an orphanage. Now Ania is a student while Magda works in a supermarket. The girls share an apartment in Warsaw - actually an adapted attic of a house; house roof beams are visible since there is no ceiling. Ania's vision of Prince Charming materializes as her neighbor Marcin - who pays no attention to her. Marcin is a playboy who lost his job but still lives above his means and his large debts are catching up with him. His financial salvation could be his Aunt Nela who lives in Britain but currently visits his parents in Cracow. There is a catch: the aunt wants to see a suitable fiancée of Martin. Martin calls his numerous former girlfriends one after another; each rejects his offer to play the role of the fiancée. They enjoy the rejection - a moment of triumph after being brutally abandoned by Marcin. Now Marcin has no other option but to enlist the help of Ania; she does so lying to her, lies are his way of life. When in Cracow a big lie comes out, Piotr Adamczyk as Marcin shows his formidable histrionic talent; for the first time since his childhood Marcin wants to tell the truth - to Ania - and his internal struggle not to resort to lies once again is tremendous to watch. The DVD contains interviews with the actors. Marta Zmuda Trzebiatowska describes her role as Ania: Ania is not naive. This is worth saying since Ania has limited life experience because of her orphanage past. In the scene with her lecherous boss, first Ania does not know how to handle him. However, since she is highly intelligent, she soon figures out a way. Other actors display their talents too: Magdalena Schejbal as Magda (a coincidence?), Grazyna Szapolowska as Marcin's mother, and as always inimitable Beata Countess Tyszkiewicz as Aunt Nela.

Recent German films have sound tracks in at least four languages. The director of "Darling, don't lie" Piotr Weresniak did a good job. The producer Piotr Weresniak turned out to be a moron. On our DVD there is no sound track in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French and/or German. Even English subtitles are missing. Thus, in Brazil alone 200 millions people will not see this film - and so among others will not see views of night Cracow taken by the cinematographer Piotr Weresniak.

One of the previous commentators tells us that Skolimowski wrote the script in one day; this shows. We do not hear any conversations between the workers who are heroes of the film ! We hear sometimes thoughts in the head of the main character. The martial law period in Poland was aimed at crushing the Solidarity movement. It succeeded - for some years. Compare this film with wonderful "The man of iron" directed by Andrzej Wajda who shows the birth of Solidarity. So much could have been done showing how Solidarity was crushed - only the director who is also the script writer had hardly a clue what to do. As another commentator points out, the workers are kept in the dark by their foreman. Seeing on TV the streets of Warsaw with tanks, do they really believe this is normal ? Particularly so since they left Poland when Solidarity was flourishing ... Jeremy Irons is a very good actor; one can presume he wanted to show to the world how Solidarity was crushed. Irons apparently assumed that Skolimowski originating from Poland knows what he is doing; a sad mistake. If you have sympathy for the Solidarity movement and its role in history - as many people around the world do - do not watch this film. You would be terribly disappointed.

The earlier commentator defined the essence of the plot: Dorota is pregnant; her parents Wladek and Jadwiga decide to buy her a husband for a quick marriage and a quick divorce as a cover up for the baby on the way. When it turns out that the young man Bronek who accepted the task has a criminal record, things look bleak and anything but comical. The first signal that this impression is not the whole story comes from a short conversation between Wladek and Bronek. Wladek says "We are not going to pay you for repairing the TV antenna on the roof, we did not ask you to do this work, you will not get one cent more". Bronek's reply is astonishing: "No problem. I never had a home". In addition to the main story interesting events unfold in the background. The local priest practices medicine, there is often a line of patients in front of his home - seen from the street. Jadwiga as the mayor considers this view a disgrace to her small town. She is powerless, however; the priest takes no money from his patients. The local police chief has amorous designs on Jadwiga. By an accident the criminal past of Bronek is revealed to a third party and blackmail begins. There is also a real criminal lurking in the dark - and a visit of an important dignitary from Wroclaw is a threat to the locals also. As befitting a comedy, various problems get solved eventually - but after delightful twists and turns.

This film is classified as a musical comedy - an oversimplification. There is music from the Mazowsze Song & Dance ensemble in the background most of the time, well chosen to fit the action. But there is also music in the figurative sense of the word in the dialogs (by Stanislaw Dygat, also well known for his novels). The reason is the enchanting performance by Elzbieta Czyzewska as Hanka. She is well accompanied by Wieslaw Golas as Robert and in smaller roles by Edward Dziewonski, Wieslaw Michnikowski and Jan Kobuszewski (all stars of the Dudek Cabaret). From the moment we see Hanka and Robert dancing a polonaise in the Gdansk City Hall, we wish the two of them well. We suffer when misunderstandings which are not their doing appear and pile up - but we continue to hope. Stanislaw Bareja was a master of comedy, there are now annual festivals devoted to his films and those of his contemporary followers. This is one of Bareja's earlier films, and already his talent shines.

I agree with Ewa from Lukow that the Jolanta Fraszynska playing Kasia is doing a good job. Artur Zmijewski playing Jurek = Mikolaj = Aleksander = Piotr is somewhat wooden, but he has to be. Under each of the different names he uses, Piotr is not really engaged emotionally. However, the previous two commentators somehow did not note an unusual aspect of this film. In a typical romantic comedy at the end the heroes fall into arms of each other and it is clear they will "live happily ever after". Laweczka is much more realistic, a very rare if not unique feature ! Piotr takes keys from Kasia's apartment declaring "I have not undertaken any obligation". He will probably get his things from the apartment of his estranged wife and move in with Kasia, but the future is uncertain. He might move on after a conquest of still another woman. On the other hand, it is at least possible - after deception from a woman he loved and his two broken marriages - that he might settle with Kasia. Kasia apparently is willing to risk his abandoning her as well - precisely because there is a chance he might stay and she really loves him. Future will tell - as in real life rather than in a typical film.

It is autumn on the Baltic coast of Poland near Gdansk. Turists have gone home, the heroes have a beach practically to themselves. There are three main heroes: He (played by Roman Wilhelmi), Ania (played by Slawomira Lozinska) and his small son Bartek. Leon Niemczyk appears briefly as a film producer in a later part of the film. An ingenious and eerie cinematography: we often look at the action from a dune above the beach. Also sometimes we do not see what the adults are doing, we only see the face of Bartek looking at them. The adult hero is a film director who gets a well deserved rest after exerting work on a film. Ania is away from her home in Warsaw because her marriage is on the rocks; this sounds like a cliché, but it is not; at some point her husband comes to visit her. Bartek is not only an observer but a very important participant - but I am not going to say more here. Literally translated, the title means: About happiness in the autumn. A film well worth seeing.

Kornel Makuszynski claimed he was writing for teenage girls. In reality his books have been read by generations of both male and female readers aged from 7 to at least 100. Several films have been made on the basis of his novels, including one in 2006. Often a film contains much less than the book on which it is based, the film viewer is disappointed, but this is not the case here. Kazimierz Tarnas as the director and script author has captured the spirit of Makuszynski as well as the words of his heroes. Ewa's follies are caused by her trying to correct wrongs and to uproot evil. Thus, the word is not an ideal place, far from it, but a determined individual, even aged 15, can do much through energy, determination and ingenuity. The viewer is in suspense together with Ewa (pronounced Ehva) whether she will come out unscathed from her latest scrape, and shares her trepidation and fears. Dorota Grzelak (according to this Database later Dorota Latos) is wonderful as Ewa – because of her many facial expressions, the changes in the timbre of her voice, and her contagious belief that the world can be made into a better place. Emilian Kaminski as Jerzy is very good too – as is in fact the entire cast. One wonders about a different book by Makuszynski called The Voice from the Other World; will this one day be made into a film too ?

This is a wonderful film. Except for Monsieur Morand, the characters are all likable (even Mme Morand). One almost shares the indignation of Mme Morand when she cries: "We should have been warned about the police raid beforehand, we pay them enough". One would like to help the criminals ! When in a later part of the film Pauline makes a move to befriend the girlfriendless Bruno, we are happy for him.

There are many enjoyable details one needs to pay attention to, some of them without words. When Morand is arrested, there is a huge TV set in his cell. When crooked politicians supporting him are also arrested one after another, one sees how his prison cell looses gradually its expensive look and contents, and in the end only a small portable radio remains.

The opening scene with its suspense, literally and figuratively, seems like taken out of silly Hollywood suspense movies, but when that scene returns much later even that moment (the only one I did not like) acquires a logical sense. The authors play well, as Kelly from Arizona points out. Three dogs and one cat play well too; how this was achieved is hard to figure out if you are not an animal trainer.

Views of the French Riviera and of some well known places in Marseilles are an added bonus - and somehow make the antics of the heroes even more believable.

Let me sort out what in this film is Soviet, what is Russian, and what is universal.

Soviet is the background, including the cartoon which precedes the appearance of humans: a man with a tube kills any architect originality, even so innocent as balconies. As a consequence, the same buildings are put up in Artica as well in a southern desert before surprised camels. The Soviet reality is the basis of the plot with identical buildings in different cities. Also the New Year tree rather that the Christmas tree is Soviet. However, as the story unfolds, the Soviet reality recedes into little visible background. An exception is a line in one of the songs: if you do not have a dog, your neighbor cannot poison your dog.

Russian are the beautiful poems which are made into songs. There are also some views of Leningrad, but actually only a few, with the St. Isaac Basilica shown several times from different sides.

The cast and the technical crew are largely Russian, but not only. Obviously Armenian, Georgian and Jewish names are listed. The actress playing Nadya has been imported from Central Europe; Barbara Brylska is a Polish actress, well known also from a number of other movies made in Poland as well as in other countries.

The appeal of the film is truly universal ! This is the reason why viewers from countries so disparate as Latvia, Ukraine and China like this film so much (not to mention Texans). The love-jealousy quadrangle, two mothers, friends of Zhenya and colleagues of Nadya could have lived in many countries around the world. Even the story of the same address could have happened for instance in Germany where practically every city and town has Bahnhofstrasse and Poststrasse.

Finally, the atmosphere of this film is unique - a word which very rarely can be used discussing films. We have seen other films directed by Eldar Ryazanov, all of them good, but none comparable to this one. All that takes place in the film is plausible, it could have happened in reality. At the same time, there is the feeling of poetic, unreal and sublime. These two basically opposed reactions to the film coexist somehow in the viewer; this simply does not happen in movies, films directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski excepted. Irony of the Fate is a truly wonderful film, alive 30 years after being created; it will enchant future generations as well.

We watched it tonight for the second time. One notices then some details one missed the first time. They all fit together without any gaps one sees so often in movies, the logic is precise; one sees later reasons for small events which took place earlier. Like the first person who commented on this film, I shall not divulge any details of the ingenious plot. There are four wonderful actors, not just two as in a typical boy + girl story. Not only Maciej Stuhr and Agnieszka Krukowna but also Janusz Gajos as the philosophizing policeman and Adam Ferency as the main crook are extraordinary. There are also interesting contrasts in their interpretations; Krukowna has a rich variety of facial expressions while Stuhr junior (not to be confused with his father & an outstanding actor Jerzy Stuhr) has a poker face with a slight smile as fits his brain of the enterprise role. The dialogs are a pleasure for the viewer. Aleks has been beaten by thugs, he knows who they are, but letting the police to pursue them would damage his plans. The policeman figures this out and tells Aleks: I run today into these two thugs, you know, those you do not remember who they are.

I read the earlier comments with interest & I agree with most that has been said. However, let me pick up an earlier comment which deserves an expansion. One of the commenters says he liked everything except the annoying redhead reporter. She is not meant to be liked ! When Siara orders "that TV whore" to be killed, the viewer believes him that he was annoyed enough by her (while human life does not mean much to him). Nasty people usually are not cowards, they expect their bad deeds will catch up with them. When Jurek Kiler announces to Ewa that he has orders from Siara to kill her, she responds bravely "then shoot". She is consistent in her nasty character - which means the actress that plays her is doing a good job. Close to the end of the film Ewa finds out that Jurek is not really a serial killer for hire; her disappointment at that point is great to watch.

If one tries to follow the logic in the film, one finds just too many contradictions and discontinuities. The bride noticed only after the wedding vows were exchanged that her new husband wanted the Audi car and not her ? Only at the wedding reception in front of a large pot in the kitchen she begins talking to her mother about life and love; living under one roof they never had an opportunity to talk about these issues before ? A real estate sale document notarized during the weekend has not been recorded, this was supposed to be done Monday; it is still the weekend, yet the notary wants money for annulment and the hero is willing to pay a large sum. The hero is quite successful financially, yet he does not keep any money in the bank ? Who and for what reason moved the body of the grandfather of the bride from the bathroom to inside of a cello box ? How could this have happened with the band playing in the front of that cello box ? A crook sells to the hero a stolen car and instead of cash wants a deed to a piece of real estate near the residence of the hero ? One could continue this list of nonsenses much longer ...

The plot provides a nice balance between possible and unexpected. It is a multifacet film, providing the viewer with an option to choose his or her own way of looking at the events that unfold: will the criminals succeed, how funny people are, will an unscrupulous businessman convert the Juliusz Slowacki Theater in Cracow into a department store, will a friendship survive very adverse circumstances, and will Julian and Magda get together. The director, the cinematographer and the actors provide interesting comments on the film, the plot, and on themselves. In addition to seeing an interesting story, the viewer can then compare his/her own impressions with the intentions of the creators of the film.

The title "Children and Fish" comes from a Polish medieval proverb: children and fish should be silent. We have a background of a man in his forties abandoning his wife for a young and capricious girl, his wife consoling herself quickly with one man after another, a film director who makes advertising spots but dreams about a serious film which will put his audience on their knees, and a number of other largely (though not always) funny characters. Against this background there is a sweet man Antoni who was in love with Anna while a high school senior, never married, and is now a math high school teacher. Anna became highly successful in the advertising business, raises alone her now 16-year old daughter Marysia, and considers herself self-sufficient. There is a reunion 20 years after graduation of that high school class. Antoni and Anna meet again after all these years ...

The action takes place in a little town in Poland close to the border with Belarus. The Soviets tried for a long time to persuade their citizens and others that Soviet = Russian. This has been believed to some extent in the neighboring countries - what makes the life of the main heroine Marusia more difficult; some people in Poland call her "Russian". Highway bandits have robbed her money, but Marusia gets help from an unexpected ad hoc conglomerate: a local Catholic priest (admirable monologues which are actually prayers to St. Mary asking for guidance), a local police chief (subject to human weaknesses but brave when it really counts) and a young organist. The priest has an agenda of his own but he does not announce it aloud, not even in his prayers to St. Mary.

Ira Laczina received a prize for her role as Marusia at the Gdynia Film Festival.

Nikita is a masculine name, such as Nikita Hrushczov. Why didn't the film creators check whether such a female name exists ? I also agree with other commentators that sudden time jumps (3 year, then 1/2 year) deserve a warning. In other films one put a phrase such as: "Three years later ...". With these minor problems, it is an unforgettable film.