Ida (2013)

Poland, 1962, Anna (Agata Trzebuckowska) is a young woman of about 17, a novice nun raised in a Catholic orphanage she is sincere in her faith and anxious to become a full fledged Sister. Mere weeks before she is to take her vows Anna learns two things that are to turn her world upside down, 1) she has one living relative, an aunt (Agata Kulesza) who is a committed communist, a former prosecutor and now a judge, and 2) Anna is Jewish. Anna learns that her real name is Ida Lebenstein, and together with her aunt the unlikely pair set out on a journey to learn what really happened to her parents during the German occupation. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Feature Ida has been described by the film critic David Denby as a "compact masterpiece" the film is only 82 minutes long, filmed in an oddly vivid black and white, it is a beautiful movie, reminiscent of the kinds of films the like's of Ingmar Bergman and Carl Theodor Dreyer were making around the time this picture is set. Lead actress Agata Trzebuckowska had no experience acting or plans of being an actress when this films casting director saw her reading a book in a café, she has a most soulful face and gives a wonderful, understated performance. Agata Kulesz a veteran Polish actress gives an excellent performance as well as an unhappy woman tortured by what might have been. This is a great piece of work by the Polish/English director Pawel Pawlikowski whose most recent film Cold War is in theaters now and also nominated for a best foreign film Oscar. Ida is pretty amazing, you should see it. ****