THE BEST OFF: SMARZOWSKI

RÓŻA

2011 / 94 min / color

Summer of 1945. Tadeusz (Marcin Dorociński), a former Polish Home Army soldier who has lost everything in the war, wanders through the countryside in Marusia. He comes across the farm of the titular Róża (Agata Kulesza), the widow of a German soldier whose death he witnessed. She’s cold and guarded at first, but she lets him stay the night, and Tadeusz repays her hospitality by helping with her arduous farm work. He soon realizes that Róża needs more than just a helping hand – she needs a protector against the brutal looters and soldiers who terrorize her home. As he discovers the reasons for her isolation, an unlikely love starts to blossom between these two people from different worlds torn apart by conflict. Set against a landscape ravaged by war and poisoned by propaganda, Wojciech Smarzowski’s film tackles the harrowing fate of the Masurian people in the so-called “Recovered Territories,” exposing the cycles of hatred, violence, and retaliation that plagued the local population long after the fighting officially ceased. Rose serves as a stark reminder that while a peace treaty may get signed, war still lingers in the human heart.

• Gdynia FF – Best Actor (Marcin Dorociński), Journalists’ Award, Don Quixote Award, Golden Kangaroo, Golden Clapper, Award of the Festivals and Reviews of Polish Film Abroad
• Warsaw FF – Grand Prix, Audience Award
• Polish Film Awards “Eagles” – Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress (Agata Kulesza), Best Supporting Actor (Jacek Braciak), Best Sound, Audience Award