''Edges of the Lord'' is a 2001 film, written and directed by
Yurek Bogayevicz
Yurek Bogajevicz (born Jerzy Bogajewicz in Poznań, 2 June 1949) is a Polish film director, screenwriter, actor and producer. He directed, among others, ''Anna'' (1987), '' Three of Hearts'' (1993) and '' Exit in Red'' (1996).
Filmography
Direct ...
, starring
Willem Dafoe
Willem James Dafoe (; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, in addition to receiving nominations for four Academy Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, t ...
and
Haley Joel Osment
Haley Joel Osment (born April 10, 1988) is an American actor and voice actor. Beginning his career as a child actor, Osment's role in the comedy-drama film '' Forrest Gump'' (1994) won him a Young Artist Award. His breakthrough came with the ps ...
. The film, set in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, tells the story of a wealthy Jewish boy who must pose as a Catholic peasant farmland local in order to avoid capture from Nazi forces.
Plot
Romek (Haley Joel Osment) is the son of a wealthy
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
couple. When the
Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...
invade Poland, the family contacts an old friend and tasks him to hide their son. During this plight, Romek poses as the
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
nephew of a local farmer (
), with the aid of a compassionate Catholic priest (Willem Dafoe).
Despite his Jewish upbringing, Romek quickly learns of the Catholic traditions and manages to apply them. The peasants face constant harassment from Nazis, wherein a Hitler youth member rapes one local child. One night, Romek sees the same youth member harassing another local wherein he shoots him dead. A Nazi commander awards him a Nazi uniform and cloak, which he then uses to free some Jews and other locals mistaken as Jews. Tolo joins the other captives in solidarity.
Cast
*
Haley Joel Osment
Haley Joel Osment (born April 10, 1988) is an American actor and voice actor. Beginning his career as a child actor, Osment's role in the comedy-drama film '' Forrest Gump'' (1994) won him a Young Artist Award. His breakthrough came with the ps ...
as Romek
*
Willem Dafoe
Willem James Dafoe (; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, in addition to receiving nominations for four Academy Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, t ...
as Priest
*Liam Hess as Tolo
*Richard Banel as Vladek
*
as Gniecio
*
Małgorzata Foremniak as Manka
*
Andrzej Grabowski
Andrzej Piotr Grabowski (born 15 March 1952 in Chrzanów, Poland) is a Polish actor, singer and comedian. He is best known for playing the role of Ferdynand Kiepski in the TV series ''Świat według Kiepskich''.
Career
Grabowski graduated from ...
as Kluba
*Chiril Vahonin as Robal
*
Olga Frycz as Maria
*Eugene Osment as German officer at Batylin Field
*
Krzysztof Pieczyński
Krzysztof Pieczyński (born 27 March 1957) is a Polish actor. He appeared in more than fifty films since 1979.
Filmography
References
External links
*
1957 births
Living people
Polish male film actors
Polish male television actor ...
as German officer at Trains
Release history
The film was first released in theatres in 2001, in Poland. In 2002, it had theatrical releases in Spain, the Czech Republic, Japan, Italy, Portugal and Hong Kong. In the Czech Republic, it was shown at the
Febio Film Festival. Other theatrical releases included Kazakhstan, in 2007 and Belgium, in 2008, among other countries. The film had
direct-to-DVD
Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...
releases in Sweden (2002) and the United States (2005). The 2005 release of the film in the United States, by its distributor, Miramax/Buuna Vista, was subject to criticism for delay.
[John J. Puccio]
Review of Edges of The Lord
Movie Metropolis. Retrieved 2013-12-14.
Critical reception
The film was not widely reviewed, and the published reviews were mixed. Haley Joel Osment was described by one reviewer as having an "unusual emotional depth" in the film, where he "emotionally centers the film, with a balanced, thoughtful portrait". This reviewer also correctly predicted that because the film was shot in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, with many of the actors speaking with Polish accents, it would quickly go to video and TV.
David Nusair described the film as "a fairly decent set-up that's entirely squandered by Bogayevicz, with the filmmaker's apparent inability to develop these characters beyond their most superficial attributes surely playing a key role in the movie's ultimate (and colossal) downfall."
[David Nusair]
Review of ''Edges of The Lord''
April 9, 2008; Reel Film Reviews. Accessed 2013-12-14. Reviewer
John J. Puccio described the film as "a movie that starts grimly, lightens up slightly, and then gets very gloomy, indeed."
[
]
Awards
The film won the award for Best Screenplay (by Yurek Bogayevicz
Yurek Bogajevicz (born Jerzy Bogajewicz in Poznań, 2 June 1949) is a Polish film director, screenwriter, actor and producer. He directed, among others, ''Anna'' (1987), '' Three of Hearts'' (1993) and '' Exit in Red'' (1996).
Filmography
Direct ...
, who also directed 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 sin ...
.[Awards, ''Edges of The Lord'']
IMDb
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
. Retrieved 2013-11-14. The film was also nominated for six awards at the 2002 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 ...
: Best Film, Best Supporting Actress ( Olga Frycz), Best Director (Yurek Bogayevicz), Best Screenplay (Yurek Bogayevicz), Best 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 foc ...
(Paweł Edelman
Paweł Edelman (born 26 June 1958) is a Polish cinematographer from Łódź, known for his collaborations with acclaimed directors Roman Polanski and Andrzej Wajda. He was named Best European Cinematographer in 2002 at the European Film Awards ...
) and Best Costume Design ( Jagna Janicka)[
]
References
External links
*
*
{{Yurek Bogayevicz
2001 films
2000s war drama films
American war drama films
Films about Jews and Judaism
Films about Catholicism
American World War II films
Polish World War II films
Holocaust films
Films set in Poland
Films set in Kraków
Films shot in Poland
Films shot in Kraków
Nu Image films
Films scored by Jan A. P. Kaczmarek
2001 drama films
Films produced by Zev Braun
2000s English-language films
Films directed by Yurek Bogayevicz
2000s American films