Now into its 16th year in Malaysia, the European Union Film Festival (EUFF) has returned with 22 critically-acclaimed European movies. It is currently taking place in four cities nationwide, kicking off on 29 October to 8 November in Klang Valley (GSC Mid Valley; GSC Pavilion KL, GSC 1 Utama), before hitting the road for Georgetown, Penang (12 to 18 November at GSC Gurney Plaza), Kuching (26 November to 2 December at GSC CityONE Megamall) and Kota Kinabalu (10 to 16 December at GSC Suria Sabah).
The opening film was Ida, a Polish film directed by Pawel Pawlikowski.. The movie has garnered a string of awards that include Academy Awards 2014 (Best Foreign Language Film), BAFTA Awards 2015 (Best Film Not in the English Language) and European Film Awards 2014 (Best Director, Best Film, Best Screenwriter, Best Cinematographer, Audience Award – Direction).
It is rare to watch a movie in black and white these days, save for some old numbers that are telecasted every now and then. Released in 2013, Ida is one of such movie.
Set in 1962 Poland, the film opens to a scene of a convent, where Anna is preparing to become a nun. The beautiful 18-year-old has lived at the convent since orphaned as a child, never once exposed to the outside world. Anna, a composed, devoted Christian knows nothing about her family. She later learns of her aunt from Mother Superior, who insists Anna visit her aunt before taking her vows.
In Lodz and wearing her habit, Anna enters the apartment of her aunt, Wanda, who is seen to be puffing away on a cigarette while waiting for the guy she picked up the night before to leave. The minor state judge and Communist Party member reveals to her niece that her real name is Ida Lebenstein and that she is in fact a Jew.
Wanda is seen to be sarcastic and often picks at the girl’s ignorance. Given that, she has her own set of mysteries and scores to settle. They both agree to travel to the village to find where Ida’s parents were buried, the village where Wanda and Ida’s mother grew up in. It is a journey that involves identity-search and also a spiritual one where the two characters uncover truths to their respective unresolved mysteries.
But, what makes this film special is that it makes such expressive use of silence and portraiture; I was immediately drawn into its stillness in awe. I even find myself immersed in deep concentration and satisfaction as the plot unravels.
Ida is truly a movie masterpiece that explores and questions the meaning of life while discussing the importance of self-identity and integrity when life throws in a bout of tests.
Watch the trailer here:
All EUFF films are presented in their original language with English subtitles. EUFF tickets are sold at RM7.50 (inclusive of GST), with the exception of GSC Movies’ title Purgatory. Three movies – The Chair of Happiness, A Gun in Each Hand and Only When I Dance – will be screened for free. Tickets can be purchased via GSC E-payment at www.gsc.com.my, GSC Mobile App (IOS, Android & Windows Phone) or at participating GSC outlets.
