''Silence'' ( pl, Cisza) is a 2001 Polish film directed by Michal Rosa from a

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

by Rosa and

Krzysztof Piesiewicz Krzysztof Marek Piesiewicz (; born 25 October 1945 in Warsaw, Poland) is a Polish lawyer, screenwriter, and politician. From 1991 to 1993 and from 1997 to 2011 he was a member of Polish Senate. He was the head of the Ruch Społeczny (RS) or S ...

. Rosa was named best director for the film at the 2001

Polish Film Festival The Gdynia Film Festival (until 2011: Polish Film Festival, Polish: ''Festiwal Polskich Filmów Fabularnych w Gdyni'') is an annual film festival first held in Gdańsk (1974–1986), now held in Gdynia, Poland. It has taken place every year sinc ...

. Actress

Kinga Preis Kinga Anna Preis (born 31 August 1971, in Wrocław) is a Polish film and theatre actress. Life and career She graduated from Ludwik Solski Academy for the Dramatic Arts in 1996. In 2006, she received the Zbigniew Cybulski Award for best young act ...

won Best Actress at both the

and the 2002 Polish Film Awards. The film was also nominated for

Polish Film Awards Polish Film Award, or Eagle ( pl, Polska Nagroda Filmowa, „Orzeł”) is a film awards ceremony given annually since 1999, with the first event held on 21 June, by the National Chamber of Audiovisual Producers (KIPA). Since 2003 they are given ...

for its

cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to focu ...

and its score. ''Cisza'' is one of several Polish films released in 2001 with a religious theme. According to Piesiewicz, ''Cisza'' was intended as the first of eight films intended to "synthesize the last 20 years of Polish history." The series was to be called ''Naznaczeni'' (''Predestined'').

Plot

The film begins in 1978 in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

when a young boy Szymon accidentally causes a deadly car crash while playing pranks with his friends. The scene then jumps forward 22 years, when Szymon, now portrayed by

Bartosz Opania Bartosz Opania (born 12 December 1970, Puławy) is a Polish film, television and theatre actor. Life and career He was born on 12 December 1970 in Puławy to father Marian Opania and mother Anna. He played his first roles in Jacek Bromski's polit ...

becomes friendly with Mimi, played by Preis. Mimi's parents had been killed in the car crash 22 years earlier and Mimi herself had survived the crash. The relationship forces Mimi to face the issues from her past and her attitude to her own daughter, while Szymon attempts to relieve the guilt he feels by watching over and trying to protect Mimi.

Reception

Film critic Andrew James Horton claims that the film's "portrayal of a woman falling in love with her stalker will be morally sickening and insensitive and outweigh Piesiewicz' otherwise worthy aims." But author Steven Woodward points out that the same could be said about some other films cowritten by Piesiewicz, such as ''

A Short Film About Love ''A Short Film About Love'' ( pl, Krótki film o miłości) is a 1988 Polish romantic drama film directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and starring Grażyna Szapołowska and Olaf Lubaszenko. Written by Krzysztof Kieślowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz, ...

'' and ''

The Double Life of Veronique ''The Double Life of Veronique'' (french: La double vie de Véronique, pl, Podwójne życie Weroniki) is a 1991 drama film directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and starring Irène Jacob. Written by Kieślowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz, the film exp ...

'', and that Cisza "aspires to the

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

of ''The Double Life of Veronique''.

Cast

as Magdalena "Mimi" *

as Szymon * Zuzanna Rezner as Magda * Marek Kimona as Szymon *

Ilona Ostrowska Ilona Ostrowska (born May 25, 1974) is a Polish actress. In 1998 she graduated from the State Theatre School in Wrocław. She worked in Wrocław, Polish Theatre and the Theatre of K2. Since 2002 is an actress Contemporary Theatre in Warsaw. In 20 ...

* Irena Burawska * Magdalena Kuta as Stanisława * Laura Konczarek as Ola * Wojciech Wasasik * Piotr Kopczyński * Wojciech Kalarus * Przemysław Rezner *

Jolanta Fraszyńska Jolanta Fraszyńska (born 14 December 1968 in Mysłowice) – Polish actress in film and theater. Biography Fraszyńska spent her childhood in Mysłowice, Poland. As a six year old she began performing in the singing and dancing program of ...

* Sylwia Juszczak * Jerzy Matula

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0295200, Silence 2001 films Films with screenplays by Krzysztof Piesiewicz Films directed by Michal Rosa 2000s Polish-language films Polish drama films 2001 drama films Films set in Łódź