“Let there be no traces.” Polish candidate for an Oscar. Review

• “Lest There Be Traces” debuted at the 78th Venice International Film Festival
• Jan P. Matuszyński’s film focuses on the bizarre, manipulated by the authorities trial after the death of Grzegorz Przemyk
• The Polish candidate for an Oscar is a timely proposition – it raises the topic of the oppression of citizens by the authorities
• The film is well-cast and perfectly captures historical details
• However, foreign reviewers are skeptical: they call the film “overloaded spinning” and “a film that grinds viewers as much as the heroes.”
• You can find more such articles on the Onet homepage

If we are wondering whether the history of nearly forty years ago has a chance to interest an international audience, the answer is: absolutely. Przemyk’s murder, followed by an investigation and a trial, were evidence of the extreme corruption and corruption of a system that, instead of working for the people, was against them. A young boy, the son of an opposition activist, from the point of view of the authorities “subversive” and a second-class citizen, fell victim to the sense of superiority and impunity of the officers. Bane at the hands of whoever should protect – this is the story of both George Floyd and Bartek S. from Lubin. Painful and painfully readable in 2021.

The death of Przemyk, a high school graduate who was brutally tortured by the police, shocked Poland in 1983, arousing the anger and frustration of citizens. Although martial law was officially suspended, in practice the plan to crush the Solidarity opposition was still in force. Przemyk, the son of an opposition activist, the poet Barbara Sadowska, quickly became a hero of the opposition, with thousands of people gathering on the streets. And this despite the fact that the authorities blocked information about the case in the state media. The underground press did its job, and the foreign media also wrote about the matter extensively. The situation could not be underestimated – the authorities had to do everything to nip this rebellion in the bud. The more so as John Paul II was to come to Poland in a few months. In front of journalists from all over the world, it was necessary to convincingly play a theater about normality in Poland. That is why it was a point of honor to take the guilt off the officers and charge it with the paramedics from the ambulance that was taking Przemyk from the police station in the Old Town to the hospital. The system had to remain blameless. The process in which these conclusions were then proved was dictated by General Kiszczak and was a cruel farce. Barbara Sadowska never received a fair sentence. She died three years after Grzegorz.

A report by Cezary Łazarewicz with the same title, awarded by Nike, became the basis for Kaja Krawczyk-Wnuk’s script. In a review written after the book’s premiere in 2016 for Culture.pl, Aleksandra Lipczak wrote that it was “actually a ready-made script for a film. One that makes it very difficult to fall asleep at night”. This movie has just been made.

Matuszyński follows in the footsteps of Łazarewicz, i.e. he focuses on what happened after Przemyk’s death. The main character of the film, however, is not Sadowska, but Jurek Popiel (in fact Cezary F.), Grzegorz’s friend, who was with him on the ill-fated day. The only witness of violence is immediately targeted by the secret services. The authorities intimidate the boy, blackmail his relatives, and threaten him. The fact that Jurek’s parents are of a different reality than Barbara Sadowska does not help – they are opportunists, convinced of the value of the system, worried that Warsaw spoiled their son. The director shows the course of Operation Junior, the main goal of which is to stop Jurek from revealing the truth. It illuminates the entire, completely manipulated process of finding those responsible for the murder. He peeks into party rooms, police stations, police bitches eavesdropping on strategically placed bedbugs. It exposes the scale of permanent surveillance. The atmosphere around Jurek thickens, the noose tightens around his neck. But he and Barbara are still fighting for the truth. Hope dies last. However, in this world devoid of illusions and hopes, truth or honesty are clichés. The system, although it might seem that it will barely crack, turns out to be surprisingly effective.

Matuszyński’s great success is the development of a clear and consistent language of the story. There is a lot going on in this movie, the emotions are strong. The narrative, which is somewhat withdrawn, reliable and does not add to anything else, works great. There is also a shift in focus from Sadowska to Popiel, as well as not overly focusing on the personal fate of convicted paramedics. Thanks to this, the story reaches wider – from the drama of an orphaned mother or unjustly convicted nurses, it becomes a story about systemic games and intrigues behind the doors of great offices. Kacper Fertacz’s cinematographers (“The Last Family”, “Król”) are cool and washed out of color, matching the coarse reality of the time. And yet they are also poetic, filled with emotions that cannot be put into words. The set designer Paweł Jarzębski did a great job, recreating the realities of the times to the letter, but adding a purely cinematic three-dimensionality – as if each piece of furniture or object was telling its story. Małgorzata Zacharska’s costumes and the make-up of Pola Guźlińska are world championships – again in accordance with the truth of the times, but with space for creation and author’s autonomy.

The casting director Piotr Bartuszek (“Król”) confirms that he is one of the best. In “Lest There Are Traces” there is not so much no bad actor as there is no actor in the wrong place, in an average role. Jacek Braciak and Agnieszka Grochowska as Jurek’s parents are as nightmarish as ordinary. The grotesque party of the father, the ex-soldier, is balanced by the pragmatism of the mother. Not obvious is played by Tomasz Kot, Col. Romuald Zajkowski, kind of systemic, but not quite a pig. Robert Więckiewicz in the role of Kiszczak is repulsive, but delicious when it comes to acting. The cunning, unscrupulous policemen (Michał Żurawski, Rafał Maćkowiak) are also great. The undisputed star of the background is Aleksandra Konieczna in the role of an opportunistic prosecutor with an irritating manner of speaking who, even in a heated room, does not take off her fur hat, likes snacks at night and always wears full, motley makeup. The foreground is an acting duo of Ziętek-Korzeniak. Lupa’s actress is always able to create magic on the screen (even in the unsuccessful “Spanish girl”!). As traumatized, broken, but steadfast, Sadowska looks very credible. Ziętek proves that he is fully ready for the foreground, he has the power to carry the entire film on his shoulders. Could be among the favorites for the Coppa Volpi for Best Actor.