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Ida
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - Australia - Umbrella Entertainment Review written by and copyright: James-Masaki Ryan (10th February 2022). |
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The Film
 "Ida" (2013) Anna (played by Agata Trzebuchowska) is a young nun about to take her vows at her convent. But before she does, she is advised by the committee to visit her aunt Wanda (played by Agata Kulesza), her only blood relative. It is from her that Anna learns that she is Jewish, and her birth name is Ida Lebenstein, and orphaned as a toddler when her parents were killed by the Nazis. To set sight towards her future, Anna takes a trip with Wanda to her birthplace to learn about the truth, opening her world and questioning her life and beliefs. Filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski was born and raised in Poland, but moved away at age 14, living most of his life in the United Kingdom. Raises with the Catholic religion, he learned in his teens that one of his grandmothers was Jewish and was killed in Auschwicz during the war. The story of "Ida" is one about identity and faith, and is a very personal film for the director, who would look back to his past and his home country's past, for the first time in his filmmaking career. With a filmography of acclaimed features and documentaries under his name, "Ida" would be the first of his works to be in his native Polish language and shot in Poland, more than four decades after moving away from the country. The script was co-written by English screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz, with the script being done in English and then translated to Polish. Focus was placed on the central character of Anna, who for almost two decades was raised as a Catholic in a convent and had fully devoted her life to God, but then learns about her bloodline that challenges her faith. The journey is both a spiritual one and a literal one, as the story is essentially a road trip taken by Anna that changes not only her, but the people she encounters. The casting of Anna/Ida was a difficult choice for Pawlikowski, who saw through many auditions but couldn't had trouble finding the right person to play the nineteen year old main character. Reaching out to other fellow Polish filmmakers for help, he received a photo from director Malgorzata Szumowska of a young woman sitting at a cafe who looked to be a fit. Agata Trzebuchowska was not an actress, nor did she have any ambition of becoming an actress, but that iPhone snapshot led her to be cast in the lead role of a very unique role. Anna was a character that carried quite a lot of emotional pain and existential questions, but Trzebuchowska would not play the role as melodramatic or overstated. Instead, subtleties and reactions to the people around her, along with nervousness would be the take, and the newcomer did so with natural elegance in the part. Yes, there was some reality based on it as she was a complete newcomer to the acting world, but it only emphasizes the character's emotions much stronger. Anna is not a character that smiles or raises an eyebrow. Her voice is never heightened and she never causes a fit. The pain that Anna feels, the anger that she has are always internally supressed, which may not be the most exciting to see in cinematic terms, but is one closer to reality - a nun not indulging in wrath. While Anna might be expressionless, Wanda on the other hand is the opposite. Hard drinking, chainsmoking, sexually promiscuous and with a pessimistic view on life, Wanda fought against the Nazi regime during the war as a member of the Communist resistance and later becoming a state prosecutor fighting to sentence war criminals for their actions. While it was important to have her niece grow up in a pure environment away from the dark past, it was inevitable that Anna would one day visit to hear the truth. But their road to their hometown becomes an unusual bonding experience for the two women. Wanda has seen what war and anti-semitism could do to people, and her life also faced tragedy, with the loss of her young son, murdered during the war alongside Anna's parents. She might know that her lifestyle is not healthy, but she is happy with the smaller non-permanent joys of carnal relations, rather than trusting someone to earn their love. Kulesza plays the character of Wanda with incredible force in comparison, dominating the screen yet still able to hold back and be reserved. Much of what is shown is through the eyes of Anna seeing Wanda, and they are not seen with disgust, but rather with curiosity. And that also leads to the third passenger on their journey. It is not only two women on the road unconvering their past, but when they pick up Lis (played by Dawid Ogrodnik), a young male saxophonist who needs a ride, the more serious and darker tone of the story comes to a lighter side. As Anna and Wanda are invited to see him and his jazz band perform in the evening at a local club, the world of the changing postwar Poland comes to light. Playing western influenced jazz-pop tunes as well as wonderful rendition of John Coltrane's "Naima", Wanda is able to flirt with men while Anna is able to see a live show - something completely foreign to her. It's an interesting counterpoint to a story that looks to the past to find answers having a look at where youth culture, social norms, and a changing nation was heading after a brutal period in the mid century. In addition, Anna would find herself in conversation with Lis discussing about various things that she would never have in the convent or with her aunt. With "Ida" exploring self-discovery, religion against blood, the nature of healing, and other deep subjects, it is also noteworthy of how the film looks. The city of Łódź was used for locations, using places that would stand in easily as Poland of 1961 rather than of the twenty-first century. From the city streets to the rural farmhouses, the film also uses crisp black and white imagery to hide the era as one of the past. In addition to that, the film is shot in the 4x3 aspect ratio for a classic framing of cinema. The original cinematographer Ryszard Lenczewski fell ill on the first day of filming, and so assistant Lukasz Zal was promoted to take the lead cinematographer. Another interesting note is that the framing of the characters. Rather than having subjects continuously centered, in many of the shots the characters faces are either towards the bottom of the frame or to a lower corner of the frame, leaving a large amount of headspace. This may sound like an odd choice, but Pawlikowski experimented with the shots to focus not only on the characters but around them as well. It's almost as if God is hovering over Anna's character and guiding her, or around others to bless them or condemn them. It's actually a very clever and very unique way of looking at the characters and the surroundings, but as Pawlikoski said in interviews, it created a problem with international audiences as the subtitles on the lower part of the image would suddenly cover up the actors' faces. There were some adjustments made, such as some scenes bringing subtitles towards the top or middle of the frame. Another interesting note is that the camera is always on a fixed position without movement. The only exceptions are when the camera is mounted on a car fixed on the characters inside and the very final sequence which the camera does move with the character in a quite powerful scene. The static image throughout makes everything seem more two dimensional than three, like paintings or photographs rather than cinema. Yet somehow the film is able to grab audiences with its reality and emotional depth. The great performances by the leads, a captivating story, and a unique visual look are all part of the equation here, and "Ida" works absolutely beautifully. "Ida" first screened at the Telluride Film Festival on August 30th, 2013. It later played at the Gdynia Polish Film Festival, Warsaw Film Festival, and the BFI London Film Festival before its theatrical release in Poland on October 25th, 2013. The film was not much of a hit in its native country, grossing only $300,000, but it caused a wave of critical acclaim from both Polish critics as well as international. The film went on to win 68 international awards including Best Picture at the Academy Awards in Hollywood, becoming the first Polish language film to do so. High praise was given to the direction, the story, and the performances, and became an arthouse hit, grossing more than $11 million worldwide. Pawlikowski's returned to Poland to direct his next film, 2018's "Cold War" which also received staggering praise, becoming an even bigger hit, also set in a postwar Poland and shot in black and white. Agata Trzebuchowska stated that she considered this to be a one off job as an actress as she was not interested in continuing her life in that direction, she did writer and direct two short films afterwards, with "Heat" (2017) and "Vacancy" (2019). To date, "Ida" is her only acting role, and what a high note the single role was. Note this is a region ALL Blu-ray
Video
Umbrella Entertainment presents the film in the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio in 1080p AVC MPEG-4. Shot on 35mm film, the black and white image is very striking, with a great greyscale throughout. Details are crisp from the faces to the architecture, with everything looking as sharp as can be. Film grain is minimal but noticeable, with no signs of damage or digital artifacts, looking excellent in every scene. The film's runtime is 81:58.
Audio
Polish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 The original 5.1 track is presented lossless, though this isn't a film that makes much use with the multichannel layout. It is a mostly centered track, as dialogue takes center stage. There is no score for the film as all music that plays is within the environment of the characters - from the radio playing or the live music. In the live music scenes the sound does make use of the left and right channels to spread the echoes as well as the surround channels for subtle sounds. Dialogue is always clear and clean, and there are no issues with dropouts or errors in the track. There are optional English subtitles in a white font. They are clear and easy to read throughout. The English subtitles stay to the bottom of the screenthroughout, with some being moved slightly above to not get too much in the way of faces, but it is not the same as the US Blu-ray, which had some clever positioning of the subtitles in certain scenes, such as the balcony sequence having the subtitles hover over the window arches. Besides the positioning, the white letters with black borders are well timed, easy to read and without errors.
Extras
Q&A with director Pawel Pawlikowski (21:18) In this Q&A following a screening at the London Film Festival in October 2013, Pawlikoski interviewed by festival director Clare Stewart discusses the inspirations for the film, the cinematography and the choice of the unusual framing, making a film in Poland for the first time, the casting, the music choicfes, and more. The Q&A has been embedded below, courtesy of the BFI. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 without subtitles "On the Set of Ida" featurette (11:26) This featurette features interviews with the cast and crew discussing the making of the film. Talked about are the characters, finding locations to represent the past, shooting in the 4x3 aspect ratio, and more. in 1080p, AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in Polish DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 with optional English subtitles Interview with director Pawel Pawlikowski (6:51) This interview, conducted after the film's release has Pawlikowski talking about the film in retrospect, about the funding and production, the cinematography, as well as the reception from audiences around the world. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in Polish DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 with optional English subtitles Theatrical Trailer (1:50) The international English trailer, filled with critics quotes is presented here. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in Polish Dolby Digital 2.0 with burned-in English subtitles US Theatrical Trailer (from Music Box Films) Other noteworthy interviews and clips: American Film Institute interview with Pawlikowski on the framing of "Ida" Pawlikowski interviewed by film professor Annette Insdorf on "Ida" for 92Y's Reel Pieces Pawlikowski's speech for the 2015 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar The film has been released on the Blu-ray format in various territories. This Australian release has all extras found on the North American release from Music Box Films. There is a South Korean release, which has the same extras as listed above plus an exclusive Korean language critic commentary track. The UK release from Artificial Eye skimped on the extras, including only the trailer.
Packaging
The first in Umbrella's new line "World Cinema", this is spine #1, with a slipcase included. The inlay has original theatrical poster artwork, one being the Australian artwork, the other being the Spanish artwork.
Overall
"Ida" is simply a modern masterpiece. It may not seem like an ideal piece for many dealing with the horrors of the Nazi regime, questioning religion, and dealing with complex emotions, but it is a highly engrossing and absolutely wonderful film that shares the joys and devastations of life in a fairly brief runtime. The Umbrella Entertainment Blu-ray is great on a technical standpoint and carries a good number of extras. Highly recommended.
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