If I were to present my film in the briefest words, I would say it was a film about God and vodka: can you d r o w n God in vodka?", says Tomasz Wiszniewski, the director and co-scriptwriter of Wszystko będzie dobrze / All Will Be Well. "In his book 'Rehab' Wiktor Osiatyński describes how an alcoholic's brain struggles with God, but at the same time suggests that overcoming alcoholism without faith, without a sense that the spiritual world exists, is practically impossible. In fact one of the AA rules says 'believe in something' - Zen, God, the Absolute, anything which will make you realize that more exists than just yourself. A lonely struggle will destroy you, you really don't stand a chance, brother. I think Robert Więckiewicz has managed to create the impression that there's something else out there besides ourselves - something without which our struggle is doomed to failure. That something could be faith - not religion, but faith that strength can be found to help us. That strength comes from the Great Scriptwriter who looks at you as if you were a speck and is always ready to help you. The only question is, can you believe it? (from the distributor's material)
There hasn't been a film like Wszystko będzie dobrze / All Will Be Well for a long time in Polish cinema. Its uniqueness can be measured by the number of awards. At the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia, Wiszniewski's film won the awards for best director, best music, and for the role of Robert Więckiewicz, who received an Eagle Polish Film Award for best actor a few months later. The film itself was hailed as the event of the year by TVP Kultura{C}, and received a few major distinctions at festivals in Poland and abroad.
In this case, though, the film's uniqueness stems from something else. It is an intentionally realistic tale about a search for faith on the one hand, and for the meaning of life on the other, though the landscape traversed by the characters seems stylised - thanks to Jarosław Szoda's photography.
Paweł, 12, a talented long-distance runner though a poor student, goes on a lonely pilgrimage to Częstochowa during the holidays, to pray before the miraculous painting of the Black Madonna for his mother to be cured of cancer. The boy is followed by Andrzej, his gym teacher and coach. He seems to be a caring teacher showing concern for his pupil. In fact he is motivated by something else: he is an alcoholic in danger of losing his job, something he can prevent by publicizing the boy's pilgrimage and his own presence at the boy's side at this special time. He succeeds - Paweł's sacrifice gets television coverage, the boy's mother ends up in a clinic where she will have an operation. Meanwhile, a special bond develops between Paweł and Andrzej - they both face a test that will bind them for life.
There are many ways to interpret Wiszniewski's film. First of all, it is a classic picture about male friendship in which the two protagonists, the adult and the boy, mature to a different, fuller relationship. You can also interpret All Will Be Well as a story about alcohol and alcoholism - quiet, everyday, almost socially acceptable alcoholism. But what you remember best of all is the tale of hope which pushes a boy to a deed beyond his strength, makes him oppose the inevitability of death, gives him wings and power to change the impossible through prayer. This is why, even though the plot of Wiszniewski's work unfolds on the borderline of life and death, it's hard not to see the film as a fervent affirmation of life. This is life understood as a series of events which bring new experiences, teach you maturity, even prepare you for making bold, difficult, but the only correct decisions. This is true not just for the boy, who displays an extraordinary maturity. The story runs in two concurrent directions, because the man also undergoes a transformation, turning into a real human being in the course of those summer days, someone who makes the first mature decisions in his life.
- Wszystko będzie dobrze / All Will Be Well, Poland 2007. Director: Tomasz Wiszniewski, screenplay: Robert Bruttem, Rafał Szamburski, Tomasz Wiszniewski, cinematography: Jarosław Szoda, music: Michał Lorenc, set design: Andrzej Kowalczyk, costumes: Justyna Pytko, editing: Krzysztof Szpetmański, sound: Nikodem Wołk-Łaniewski. Cast: Robert Więckiewicz (Andrzej), Adam Werstak (Paweł), Izabela Dąbrowska (Paweł's mother), Beata Kawka (Anna), Daniel Mąkolski (Piotr), Wiesława Mazurkiewicz (village administrator's wife), Janusz Kłosiński (priest), Lech Dyblik (Wiesiu), Eryk Lubos (sponsor), Aleksander Bednarz (school principal). Production: Zebra Film Studio, TVP S.A., Documentary and Feature Film Studio (WFDiF), ITI Film Studio. Co-financed by: Polish Film Institute. Distribution: ITI Cinema. Length 98 min. Released on 5 October 2007.
Author: Konrad J. Zarębski, October 2008
Awards:
- 2007 - best director award for Tomasz Wiszniewski, best music award for Michał Lorenc, and best actor award for Robert Więckiewicz at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia;
- 2008 - Eagle Polish Film Award for "best actor in a leading role" for Robert Więckiewicz; Jańcio Wodnik main prize for Tomasz Wiszniewski and best actor award for Robert Więckiewicz at the Prowincjonalia Polish National Festival of Film Art in Września; TVP Kultura Award in the film category for Tomasz Wiszniewski; Honourable Mention for "an in-depth directorial portrayal of human personalities" for Tomasz Wiszniewski at the Film Directing Festival in Świdnica; Special Award at the Tarnów Film Awards for Tomasz Wiszniewski; best actor award for Robert Więckiewicz at the Festroia International Film Festival in Setúbal.