During Communion, fans of Polish documentaries will immediately be reminded of Agnieszka Zwiefka’s Królowa Ciszy about a deaf-mute Romani girl and Lilia Duda's Hercules about a handicapped boy taking care of his dysfunctional parents. The aforementioned directors also tried to paint portraits of great little heroes who walk through life with their head held high. In both latter films, one can hear accusations against the world – against the inefficient state which is not able to guarantee children good care, the society which pushes entire social groups to its margins, and the transformation which was not equally fruitful for everyone.
One cannot find any accusations in Zamecka’s film. It is not a story of Ola’s fight with the evil world. She is the world – her emotions, regrets, desire for innocence and rest; her painful longing for her mother, love, and a return to the role of a child. Zamecka does not accuse anyone – neither the social services which are not able to solve the girl’s problems, nor Ola’s parents. The director sees the clumsiness of the father but also shows his true love for his children. Nor does she accuse the mother, who left her family for another man. The director explained in an interview with Piotr Czerkawski for Dziennik:
It is comfortable for us to believe that women enter the role of mother naturally, guided by natural instincts, whereas maternal love is unconditional. In Communion I tried to show that in spite of appearances it is not that easy.
Zamecka’s film is not about guilt and sin. It is a touching and at the same time funny story about the desire for closeness. The young director flawlessly balances between drama and comedy, juxtaposing the touching moments with humorous ones. A good example of this practice is when the teenager negotiates with her curfew with her father or when the handicapped Nikodem states that ‘overeating is not a sin for me. It is a virtue’ and argues that the three Christian virtues are faith, hope, and overeating.
However, the humorous counterparts do not change the overwhelming message of the film, which states that growing up is a road full of disappointments and to reach it, one has to abandon childish dreams and naïve images of oneself and those closest to us.
Anna Zamecka’s documentary is a mature work by a mature artist. Her film is touching but avoids too much sentimentality. It sometimes make us laugh but never loses its dramatic ambiance. Communion is a touching, beautiful and intelligent film – exactly like its young protagonist.
- Communion, written and directed by: Anna Zamecka. Cinematography: Małgorzata Szyłak. Produced by: Aurora Films. The film is also available on HBO. Premiere: 25 November 2016.