Sztuczki (2007, Andrzej Jakimowski)

AKA: Tricks - Runtime: 95 Minutes - Country: Poland

This film is focusing on the life of 6-year-old Stefek (Damian Ul), a smart boy living in a small village in Poland. His small family consists of him, his 18-year-old sister Elka (Ewelina Walendziak) and his mother (Iwona Fornalczyk). His father (Tomasz Sapryk) left some time ago - due to his acquaintance with another woman from a proximate village. They are all just pursuing their everyday life… the mother works in a small rural shop, Elka is one eagerly woman who is trying to get a job - often accompanied by her new boyfriend Jerzey (Rafal Guzniczak) and her younger brother Stefek.

Jerzy, Stefek and Elka cruising through their village (click on the image to visit a small gallery @ stopklatka.pl)

Elka is trying to teach her brother a lot of things - mainly those who are connected to their environment and the world that they are living in. One day, while hanging out at the local train station, Stefek claims to have recognized a man sitting on a nearby bench… he would not have to give his thought many serious reconsiderations - it must be his father. His sister however does not like to hear about him - by making him fully responsible for his leaving, she tries to convince Stefek about the opposite…

But Stefek would not let go. With the power of his childhood imagination, he is trying to make his dreams come true - by having smaller or bigger influences on the world that he is living in…

Just how exciting a simple ride on a motorbike can be…

Wow, this certainly is a fresh film with a peculiar charm - unusual in the making and ways of pushing on with the plot. Mainly told from a children’s point of view, it is a smooth coming-of-age tale about a boy who is getting to know the world that he is living in. And of course, the little secrets in life and the power of imagination. With his sister Elka and Jerzy he is experimenting a joyful time in their rather quiet village, learning how to influence certain things and help other people. By its very humanly way of narrating, the audience is fed with a lyrical look on the life and ways of growing up in the polish countryside. It just brilliantly manages to carry over a certain feeling of melancholy by leaving a chance to reminisce about ones own childhood.

My favourite scenes were definitely those with the spontaneous realized ideas. For example; the scene were Stefek and Elka are sitting in the park, trying to get some paper bags into the dustbin - obviously in two very different ways. Even such a rather commonplace things become important; and is certainly underlined with a great philosophical undertone. To quote another scene: the moment they are resting in front of another local store - watching an unlucky salesman who can not manage to sell his apples because of the concurrence. Just how could they help him… one should see this for oneself, this film is just like poetry. Some other things I liked about this film, by covering the technical part, too:

What a beautiful summer - can it even turn out to be a perfect one… ?

• The whole relation between Jerzy, Elka and Steffek, who are the main characters, is portraited very well. Furthermore, the audience is getting a good feeling for the strong bond between the siblings and the torn apart family also.

• The acting part can definitely convince. Note that this is a rather non-professional cast, they are almost all layman - referring to their so-far and film-related experience. But they are all delivering outstanding performances - especially newcomer Damian UL manages to outshine many same-aged actors.

• The soundtrack is fitting perfectly. It sounds not too dramatic, but seems to rather have an amusing undertone.

• The whole look, which can certainly carry out a good feeling for the characters, the location, the time of year - very moody and unaffected.

Another special price should be pronounced for the cutting and camera handling. The close-ups combined with wide street-shots were nice to watch. One could be asking: “why is Andrzej Jakimowski showing this or that little fact, since there is nothing special about it at all ?” But this is a feeling that should be gone after watching the first minutes - since this exactly describes the overall highlight and personal note of the film. Even the basic things are relevant - we just tend to loose this attention while growing up…

Is it fate, is it luck, is it just fortuitousness… ? And how can you have an influence ?

Thumbs up from my side - a very good and inspiring motion picture from Poland, far away from any sensational hollywood productions. And of course, to mention it at last: a totally unique way of telling a story about a torn apart family, with all of the family members still being connected somehow - 9.1/10.

Stars:

- for the overall magical, childhood-inspired mood

- for the acting performances

- for the overall look and cutting/camera handling

- for production fairness

Visit the offical homepage of this film - basically I do not rate official pages, but this one is definitely well above average, and comes with a lot of film-related material. You can also find a trailer there.

The Dvd is availabe on Edvd.pl.