Ida

**Spoiler Alert**

Directed by: Pawel Pawlikowski, Starring: Agata Kulesza and Agata Trzebuchowska

It is unusual to see a black and white film these days but very refreshing. A cynic might scoff; dismissing Pawel Palikowski's aesthetic choice as something pretentious but how else could he capture the stark images and equally stark life of a former orphan now a nun-novitiate in a Polish monastery?

Set in gray, oppressive, 1960s' Poland, Ida tells the story of a young woman named Anna (Agata Trzebuchowska), who is on the path to taking her formal vows as a nun when her aunt--her only living relative--summons her to her apartment in the city. After a few days, her aunt Wanda (Agata Kulesza) explains to Anna that she is Jewish; her parents victims of the Nazi occupation of Poland during WWII. Wanda is keen to express her grief for Anna's mother's death; a loss that has affected her deeply. The two women then embark on a mission to discover Anna's family's past, which involves meeting people who are eager to forget Poland's shameful participation in the Jewish pogroms.

During Anna's stay, Wanda, ever a free spirit, coaxes Anna to join her for an evening at night club where a band belts out pop and jazz numbers. Anna is taken by the band-leader and over time begins a relationship with him.

Over the course of the story, we see Wanda become increasingly distraught over the past. In a scene that is startling for being seemingly mundane, we see Wanda sit at her kitchen table, spreading butter and sprinkling sugar on bread. Shortly after her meal, she turns up the music on her radio, opens the window then steps out to her death. It is unexpected and horrifying and it casts Wanda's acute pain and suffering in sharp, devastating relief.

Kulesza and Trzebuchowska's respective performances are poignant, understated and exceptional. Trzebuchowska's dark, hypnotic eyes, made more so by the contrasting plain, gray habit she wears throughout, assume a character of their own. Their beautiful opaqueness express an innocence, which Trzebuchowska uses to great effect. Kulesza is a marvel. Her character is tough and intimidating to all who would defy her but Wanda is also tortured and ultimately vulnerable. She is a woman with much on her mind though she hardly reveals all of it.

The end can be interepreted any number of ways but it seems logical, though not inevitable. Anna makes a choice and it is one that might be perplexing to the audience. We can understand her decision though it runs contrary to our hopes.

Palikowski's story says so much in so little time. The film seemed to occupy less screen-time than its 80 minute narrative. It isn't a film one will easily forget. Its deceptive simplicity is one of its many attributes, as is its poetic, tragic narrative.