Starring: Filip Garbacz, Anna Kulej, Daniel Furmaniak
Directed by: Robert Gliński
Rating: ★★★☆☆
The effect of director Robert Gliński’s Cześć Tereska (Hi Tereska, 2001) on Polish cinema was as quick and sharp as a liver punch. Its gritty realism became a reference point for all involved in the making of social dramas. Geo-historically speaking, this directing style is a-la Dardenne Brothers with a less shaky camera, and anticipated a trend in Eastern Europe later fully exploited by the Romanian New Wave.
Though shot in colour, Świnki (Piggies) is a cruel tale of youth forced to deal with the grey life of the ‘blokowisko’ milieu. Tereska passes the baton on to astronomy enthusiast Tomek, who lives in a depressed town near the German-Polish border. After we learn that Tomek is never going to get the telescope he’s been promised by his German-speaking teacher, we understand that his social redemption is beyond reach. Tomek falls in love with Marta, who asks him to find the 1,000 euros she needs for dental bleaching. The boy, interpreted by the shining talent of Filip Garbacz (who later appeared in the touching Mother Teresa of Cats), is then recruited by a hustler procuring Polish boys for German clients.
Gliński’s decision to use non-professional teenage actors again proves a smart move. The fact that Tomek brings his passport to cross the German border illustrates Gliński’s subtle talent for portraying a particular class of society – people who are so isolated that they have no awareness or understanding of innovations such as Schengen.
Originally published by The Krakow Post on July 10, 2011