Supernova

A fatal accident on a road near a village, the kind of accident that everyone drives past at least once in their life. No one knows who was at fault, who the victim was or who lost a loved one. This drama reveals their backgrounds to us, drawing us in with a real-time depiction of the situation in a small space, with a multi-relationship structure that carefully follows the emotional reaction of every person newly arriving on the scene. The atmosphere grows more dense, and the shock and pain build. Supernova is dramatically devastating and, in formalistic terms, it could be said that the film is driven by action. In addition, it aptly points out the corrupt system of power in Poland and the waning patience of the Polish people, who are fed up with it. For a feature-length debut, it’s brilliant. With just a few tweaks, it would be worthy of five stars. This could be a candidate for an American remake with the poetics of 21 Grams. And Scandinavians, with Mads Mikkelsen in one of the lead roles of course, would be great in it! [3Kino Fest] (15.11.2020)

The Poles serve up another unpleasant realistic drama that won't cuddle with the viewer. Three men, one place and one tragic event that changes the lives of all involved. In a Polish backwater town, an arrogant politician runs over a mom with two kids, who is happens to be running away from her drunken husband, and the steamy nightmare can begin. A realistically filmed debut about how a given situation means a ruined life for one person, death for another and just a traffic jam for a third. The police are a bit inept and there are some noticeable visual flaws, but that can be overlooked. An unpleasant atmosphere grinds through the entire film, it's very authentic and you feel like you're standing in a crowd in front of a nasty accident. Once the drunken husband bursts onto the scene the problem is taken care of and one moment, one might even say twist, is very unexpected. A good realistic and unpleasant film, not for the faint hearted. 7/10. (02.12.2022)

In less than eighty minutes, the talented and very capable Bartosz Kruhlik managed to pack a lot into his directorial debut – emotive performances, the dense atmosphere of a peaceful rural summer Sunday disturbed by a sudden tragedy, a chain of escalating events with fatal consequences for the characters acting under stress and pressure, the motif of society’s demand for justice in a world of incompetent police authorities and wealthy bastards hiding behind political immunity and influential connections, and a polemic on the fleetingness of life and the approach to a lamentable event from various perspectives. However, the initially realistic real-time drama about securing a crime scene, cleverly rendered in long procedural shots, yields over time to a highly exaggerated and contrived melodrama in which unforeseen family and amorous ties are gradually revealed, and which ends up being a pile of literal metaphors, simplifying shortcuts and awkward flirting with metaphysics instead of an emotional supernova. Which in turn somewhat spoils the good impression and enjoyment of the film, which otherwise puts on a rather grand show with very little. (10.11.2020)