The Dark House (2009)

This is very grim, we see lives of poverty and desperation and brutality.There acting is good, everyone delivers from Srodon as a likable coward to the bullying police officers.The pace is quite slow, there is a lot of build up since both plot threads are worked out in parallel and we have to wait until both are ready before the pace can increase, this made it hard to watch in the beginning but it's worth persisting.Both threads are dark and have a few twists.There is a bit of humour, some drunken humour in the past thread and some more gallows humour in the current time thread.The ending is very dark and surprising, and has a couple of extra twists.

This is an astounding film, bleak, grim, more than gritty and for those of us who were not brought up in an Eastern Bloc country a remarkable insight into the machinations of small town corruption Polish style.Films like this should be seen by a wider audience, it was a captivating experience to sit and view the inner workings of this elaborate (sometimes overly) story.There was just too much 'going on' in the story and some of it could have been left on the cutting room floor to give a tighter film, but that is a small critique of what is a disturbing look back at communism at 'street level'If you like your cinema real...don't miss the opportunity to see this slice of Polish communistic vodka sodden culture.

This, like Wojciech Smarzowski's previous outing, is an exploration of the side of Poland that many film makers don't want to show. Neither the plot nor the characters offer any hope that there'll be a happy ending, and it is easy to find yourself feeling suffocated in the cesspool of corruption and self-interest that the film presents. The story follows the investigation into the murder of a family on a farm in 1978. This is used to highlight the ineptitude and indifference of the local police and the thick coat of corruption which stains everybody involved in the story.As with 'Wesele' ['the Wedding'], the director's previous feature, the story is fictional but is very firmly based on fact. It is uncompromising, compelling and very well-made, and is suited for those who want something eye-opening and gritty.

This movie is telling a story that could happen anywhere - if anywhere is Poland or any other communist country. The way how the things happen will remind you that the human kind has its dark side that comes out way too easily! From my point of view it is one of the most interesting new polish movies, the plot is not obvious - or at least how it goes is not, it has integrity and all the right elements any movie should have. My only complaint would be that there are to many side stories included to the main story. Not all are relevant, and some quite hard to digest and understand.If you like strong and heavy stuff - that makes you think about the condition of the human kind, you will find some in this movie.I can recommend this title if you would like to see (or just remind yourself) how the things were done in communist Poland.