We do not know whether Stefan, a former alcoholic, decides to go on a pilgrimage to Lourdes to thank Mother of God for the miracle of overcoming the addiction or whether it is simply his way of living. He wanders from one poorhouse to another, from one hospital to another, from one detox ward to another, asking for support. Friendly alcoholics listen to his story, give him some money for the road and write down their prayer intentions for Stefan to take to France. The sober ones look at him skeptically, the ardour with which he tells his story raising suspicions. And the doctor in whose ward Stefan received his treatment refuses to recommend him to further centres. But Stefan does not give up.
One day he discovers two children, refugees from Caucasus's Dagestan, in his car. Urika and Hasim want him to take them to France, to their father. Stefan refuses and pushes them out of the vehicle. Leaving, Hasim reaches out for Stefan's case and grabs an envelope with money. Depressed, Stefan seeks solace in alcohol - and the whole detox treatment becomes useless. A return to hospital does not help and Stefan attempts suicide. He is saved and, clutching at straws, decides to take the children to France. He finds them in a refugee centre, brings to his car and starts driving towards the western border.
Handlarz cudów tells us that "understanding oneself comes from acceptance and understanding of others", say its makers, Bolesław Pawica and Jarosław Szoda, in the film's promotional materials:
"We believe that the bigger the effort you need to make to understand someone and the more different this someone is from us in cultural, social, religious and language terms, the easier it is to realize that the gap that must be bridged shows you who you are. When Grzesiek Olszewski approached us with his idea, he actually had Afghan children in mind. What won us over was the fact that the main character needed to define himself against strangers to arrive at a self-understanding."
Built around the universal structure of a road movie - with the night crossing of the Nysa Łużycka, the Polish-German border river, providing the culmination - Handlarz cudów shows the steps leading to mutual understanding: from recognizing the sharp cultural differences between the young Muslims and their Catholic caretaker to gradual mutual understanding to the birth of a strong, family-like bond. This may seem conventional, but in fact it gets very intense, mostly owing to the mature acting by Borys Szyc and two Russian teenagers, Sofia Metelitsa (student of the Warsaw Ballet School) and Roman Golchuk from Moscow. Szyc, who had to compete with the image of an alcoholic created by Robert Więckiewicz in the film Wszystko będzie dobrze / All Will Be Well (with photography by Szoda), faced a particular challenge. Despite the similarities of the plot, his compelling acting brings out the differences between the two films while maintaining full authenticity of his character. Of note is also the visual aspect of Handlarz cudów - expressive yet free from spectacular effects one could expect of directors counted among top Polish music video makers.
"Jarosław Szoda and Bolesław Pawica once again introduce a child as a catalyst of and witness to the spiritual metamorphosis of an adult - like in Angelopoulos's 'Eternity and a Day' (1998). (...) 'Handlarz' shows a meeting of two helpless and increasingly aggressive rebels. While the thirteen-year-old Urika (Sofia Metelitsa) is an oasis of peace, a teenager reconciled both with her life and the patriarchal system, her brother Hasim (Roman Gonchuk) is furious with the world and himself and, on the surface, is a cynical and cunning boy who wants to outwit everybody. And this is where he is similar to the boyishly confused Stefan", wrote Paweł T. Felis in 'Gazeta Wyborcza' on 5th May 2010.
- Handlarz cudów / The Miracle Seller, Poland-Sweden 2009. Directed by Bolesław Pawica and Jarosław Szoda. Written by Mitko Panov. Photography by Jarosław Szoda. Music by Adam Nordén and Iris Kjaernested. Art manager: Joanna Kaczyńska. Costumes by Anna Englert. Sound by Thomas Huhn and Mateusz Adamczyk. Edited by Krzysztof Szpetmański. Starring: Borys Szyc (Stefan), Sonia Metelitsa (Urika), Roman Golchuk (Hasim), Joanna Szczepkowska (Doctor Jaworska), Mariusz Benoit (Zbyszek), Ali Ibraguimov (Urika and Hasim's father), Piotr Borowski (Czarny), Franciszek Trzeciak (detoxification detention centre manager), Witold Wieliński (taxi driver). Produced by Spółka Realizatorów Filmowych i Telewizyjnych Fabryka - Film I Väst, Republiken AB, TVP S. A. - Agencja Filmowa. Co-financed by the Polish Film Institute and Performance Marketing Group. Distribution: Epelpol. Duration: 106 min. Released on 30th April 2010.
Written by Konrad J. Zarębski, May 2010.