Edi

Edi (2002), directed and co-scripted by Piotr Trzaskalski, was shown at the Rochester Polish Film Festival at the Little Theatre.

Henryk Golebiewski plays Edi (pronounced "Eddie"), an intelligent and gentle intellectual, who has ended up literally and figuratively on the scrapheap--he collects scrap metal on the street. His business partner, Jureczek (played by Jacek Braciak) is neither intelligent nor particularly gentle. (The relationship between the two men reminded me of the relationship between George and Lennie in "Of Mice and Men.") The two live at the fringe of society, barely making enough money to keep a roof over their heads and liquor in their systems.

Two brutal gangsters--known only as "The Brothers," hire Edi to tutor their sister so that she will pass her high school examinations. The sister, Princess, played by Aleksandra Kisio, is attractive in a nubile adolescent way, and Edi falls in love with her. This love leads Edi to make two immense sacrifices for Princess--sacrifices that will change his life forever.

The film also stars the luminous Polish actor Malgorzata Flegel-Siedler as Krysia, a woman whose relationship with Edi provides us with his "back-story."

This is a sad film about bad things happening to a kind and gentle man. It's not cheerful or cheering, but it's serious, well made, and worth seeing.