This well crafted detective thriller effectively builds suspense using anti-Semitism and its centuries-old myth of blood libel: Jews murdering Christians to use their blood for religious rituals. Once the star of the Warsaw prosecutor’s office, Teodor Szacki (Polish Academy Award-winner Robert Więckiewicz) explores a series of ritual killings in Sandomierz, a small town in southeastern Poland where he has fled after an affair destroys his marriage and family. As a big-city outsider in the provinces, he leads an investigation of one brutal murder that turns into a series of homicides, potentially linked to the the city’s prejudices and superstitions. Based on the best-selling novel by Polish author Zygmunt Miłoszewsk, this tense mystery keeps you on the edge of your seat as it explores contemporary Polish-Jewish relations and the power of myth-making.
“a movie that is at once a thriller and an exploration of ghosts from Poland’s Jewish past.” -Radio Poland
Film Details
Drama / Dir: Borys Lankosz /Starring: Robert Wieckiewicz, Zohar Strauss, Magdalena Walach / 2015 Poland / Polish w/English subtitles / 110 minutes
FESTIVALS
Atlanta Jewish Film Festival 2016; Boston Jewish Film Festival 2016; Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival 2016; Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival 2017; Washington Jewish Film Festival 2017; 28th Polish Film Festival in America, Rochester Jewish Film Festival 2016.
