Reviewed by: Shahalam Tariq
In Paweł Pawlikowski’s 2013 masterpiece Ida, extremely toned down and simplistic visuals are sewn together with a sound design almost lacking any music entirely (except some of it here and there) into a fabric of the finest sublimity.
The film’s silent sound design fills its empty space with subtle footsteps that resonate with the echoes of spirituality and humanity made oh so more powerful by the almost angelic visuals of the film. It’s a story of self-discovery, identity, love, and simply all that is human.
Screenplay wise there isn’t much in Ida in a quantitative sense but the quality of the screenplay is high, for when it hits, it hits hard. There is some dialogue of immense beauty to be found within the pages of Ida.
But then, its highlight is not the screenplay nor the music, it is the visuals and the silence, for with subtle touches of a soft almost invisible artistic hand the film stirs the oceans of the heart giving rise to waves of intense and deep emotions. Ida is that space between the music in which the essence of the entire piece is condensed into, it is that silence between the words in which all that was truly meant to be said by the heart is said, Ida is poetry in its highest degree. I do not think that a greater spiritual film exists, for the way I could relate to this film that too in the strangest, most abstract way is much reminiscent of the deepest emotions I have ever felt.
The film’s direction of course is another highlighting factor, there are scenes in the film that consist of just simple acts being committed, yet it is through Pawlikowski’s direction that those simple everyday acts become reflective of the very humanity of human beings, this film has the most power, most beautiful and most poetic death scene I have ever witnessed in my history of cinema.
Read Our Detailed Article On The History of Polish Cinema Here
I must say, this film never overdid anything, everything felt natural and was subtle, it is a film that shall grow old dearly in the museums of my heart’s artistic passions.
Even writing this much on this film was difficult so that’s it, a review or not this surely is an odd to probably my most favorite film of all time.
And of course, it’s a 10/10!
The World of Movies Rating – 10/10
Movie Title: Ida
Directed by: Paweł Pawlikowski
Written by: Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Paweł Pawlikowski
Ida Movie Cast: Agata Kulesza as Wanda Gruz, Agata Trzebuchowska as Anna / Ida Lebenstein, Dawid Ogrodnik as Lis, Adam Szyszkowski as Feliks Skiba, Jerzy Trela as Szymon Skiba
Year of Release: 2014
Genre: Drama
Country of Origin: Poland, Denmark, France, United Kingdom
Languages: Polish, Latin, French
Running Time: 82 minutes
Production Company: Opus Film, Danish Film Institute
Distributed by: Music Box Films
Image Source: Screenshots taken from the movie