The Dark House (2009) / Dom Z
(Trailer with English subtitles)
I saw this yesterday on Polish tv. I'm still in shock, in a way.
It's been a while since I saw anything so .. bleak, depressing, hopeless and at the same time, strangely fascinating.
The movie consists of scenes from 2 different times intertwined - a night in autumn 1978 and a winter day in 1982. In both we have mr Sordon , but in 1978 he's a guest at the house and in 1982 he's under arrest and is taking the militia and a local prosecutor through what happened 4 years earlier. The story isn't that complicated, though the movie only answers some of the questions the viewers might have. The pace varies, but it's generally not a movie that rushes to the end.
Generally it's very dirty and depressing. People are dirty. Their souls are dirty.
There is no supernatural element here, despite what the trailer might suggest, it's just people.
Also, it's a fairly accurate picture of the times behind the iron curtain. The amount of vodka might seem a bit excessive, but believe me - I know people like this and similar situations could happen. The corruption, lack of morals etc - all is as authentic as can be.
What I would like to hear though, are opinions of non Poles that saw this. People that don't have the baggage of the context and would see this as a universal story of sorts. People that don't know what esperal is. Do you know ? If not, see this movie and tell me how big an impact it had on you!