I’ve been meaning to catch up with “Ida,” the Polish film that won the best foreign language film Oscar in 2013, for almost three years. With it leaving Netflix in a few days, I decided the time had definitely come for me to see this celebrated movie. After watching its short 82 minutes, I’m glad I saw it, even though I found it underwhelming.
“Ida” tells the story of Anna (Agata Trzebuchowska), a teenaged novitiate nun in 1960s Poland who is about to take her vows. Her mother superior (Halina Skoczynska), however, orders her to visit her aunt Wanda (Agata Kulesza), her only surviving relative. Reluctantly, Anna goes. Once there, her blunt aunt reveals that Anna’s real name is Ida and she is Jewish, prompting the mismatched pair to go on a …show more content…
She does exactly what the director asks I’m sure, being a stoic rock throughout the film. Rarely do audiences decipher what’s going on beneath her unsmiling visage, but when she does show some inner turmoil it can be fascinating. Unfortunately, she does not do this enough, instead choosing to look emotionless for most of the movie. This hurts her performance, as it becomes more one note than need be.
Kulesza as Wanda, however, totally surpasses the younger actress. She also goes for minimal expression, but she does it much better. She doesn’t have a big emotional moment, but she conveys the troubled past of her character through her body language and facial expressions. This makes the character feel more real, and it allows audiences to empathize with her more. In short, it is a very good performance.
Of course, people don’t remember “Ida” for its acting, but for its Oscar-nominated cinematography by Ryszard Lenczweski and Lukasz Zal. This facet is probably tied with Kulesza’s performance as the best part of the film. It is shot mostly in long shots and long takes, with minimal camera movement and compositions that often place characters at the bottom of the screen. The interesting angles and compositions constantly keep the viewers on their toes in an attempt to figure out the meaning of these images. Besides their intellectual stimulation, these frames can also be starkly beautiful and
“Ida” tells the story of Anna (Agata Trzebuchowska), a teenaged novitiate nun in 1960s Poland who is about to take her vows. Her mother superior (Halina Skoczynska), however, orders her to visit her aunt Wanda (Agata Kulesza), her only surviving relative. Reluctantly, Anna goes. Once there, her blunt aunt reveals that Anna’s real name is Ida and she is Jewish, prompting the mismatched pair to go on a …show more content…
She does exactly what the director asks I’m sure, being a stoic rock throughout the film. Rarely do audiences decipher what’s going on beneath her unsmiling visage, but when she does show some inner turmoil it can be fascinating. Unfortunately, she does not do this enough, instead choosing to look emotionless for most of the movie. This hurts her performance, as it becomes more one note than need be.
Kulesza as Wanda, however, totally surpasses the younger actress. She also goes for minimal expression, but she does it much better. She doesn’t have a big emotional moment, but she conveys the troubled past of her character through her body language and facial expressions. This makes the character feel more real, and it allows audiences to empathize with her more. In short, it is a very good performance.
Of course, people don’t remember “Ida” for its acting, but for its Oscar-nominated cinematography by Ryszard Lenczweski and Lukasz Zal. This facet is probably tied with Kulesza’s performance as the best part of the film. It is shot mostly in long shots and long takes, with minimal camera movement and compositions that often place characters at the bottom of the screen. The interesting angles and compositions constantly keep the viewers on their toes in an attempt to figure out the meaning of these images. Besides their intellectual stimulation, these frames can also be starkly beautiful and