I went to watch this movie with little expectations, mostly to complement my Polish learning, but came back fascinated. We are treated to a glimpse in the daily routine of this solitary old woman. More than that, we are offered the chance to look at her own personal world through her eyes. It inspires us with her fears, her joys, her memories and even her dreams.
Her routine does not become repetitive at all during the film: something new is always afoot, and the dog provides some counterbalance to her monologue. All other actors do a great job here, including the pet, but the old lady seemed so real that sometimes you wanted to answer back to the screen. However, the camera work is what most got my attention. It marvelously captures all the situations and the feelings involved in them, and presents them in texture-rich black and white. The visuals captivated me from beginning to end: the carefully chosen composition and angles, the impressive number of different textures and the use of lighting, as well as some camera tricks, like shooting through glass, made me feel like I was watching a collection of very beautiful and evocative pictures on top of which the characters moved like paper figurines.
Unfortunately my Polish is not very good, yet, so I missed about half of the dialogue. I'm hoping to see this movie subtitled to a language I understand better, but I recommend watching this movie even if you don't get a single word.
