The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

This dark, paranoid thriller from Tadeusz Krol tells the story of an upstanding military officer and family man, whose accurate suspicion of the institution he has served all his life, leads to his mental state deteriorating and ending in tragedy. Janusz Chabior delivers a chilling portrayal of Captain Derczynski, a proud nationalist, who, after being told he is being transferred and demoted from his base, tries to expose corruption and protect his family from the evil forces he perceives. As his actions become more desperate and out of control we assume his judgement is growing ever cloudier, until it becomes clear his paranoia is justified.At first Derczynski is hard to sympathise with, insisting on passing on all his beliefs and habits to his two young sons and showing displeased indifference towards his teenage daughter. He sneers at her enthusiasm to go on a school trip to see a holocaust movie despite her fear of being ostracized from her peers. However, we also see his commitment to his family through some warm moments of father and son's bonding and his eventual capitulation in the face of imploring from his wife and daughter. His duty to protect his family also comes to the fore when an old boyfriend of his wife's turns up unexpectedly and threatens to disrupt the family equilibrium.From here on begins the extra security measures and growing paranoia in the captain. We witness him growing more concerned about the dangers of the outside world and, in turn, his family increasingly fearing his behaviour. Matters come to a head when Derczynski is compelled to go to extremes and things start to turn ugly.On the one hand the film seems to romanticize it's main character's traditional and nationalist convictions, but on the other, condemns them through the depiction of an institution crushing one it's most ardent supporters. It invokes disapproval of homophobic and anti-semitic notions held by the captain, suggesting that such an outdated view of the world is responsible for his downfall. As the film goes on we are treated to lots of darkly lit, claustrophobic scenes inside the family home which becomes like a prison, it's inhabitants becoming hostages. The camera begins to close in on Chabior a lot more and you can feel his world coming down on him. Eventually it is the intervention of another tradional institution, in the local priest, that triggers the denouement. The sombre ending neither restores faith nor offers optimism, showing how one man is no match for the powers that be. A distrust of the authorities and sense of helplessness are all that is left. This is a cynical story but one that is still enjoyable and thrilling. Review by Stuart McWalter for the Play Poland Film Festival.