Movie reviews

ZEBY NIE BYLO SLADOW (LEAVE NO TRACES) LEAD ACTORS, DIRECTOR, PRODUCERS Q&A

Here's a handful of trivia about the movie and its reception by international audience: Shooting during the pandemic was difficult, e.g. there was a time when the cameraman was quarantined and was only available on Zoom. A lot of special effects were needed to show Warsaw of the period. As one of the producers remarked, "najlepsze są takie, których nie widać" ("the best ones are ones you can't see") so in my opinion they got them right. In the beating scene the focus is on Jurek Popiel, not Grzegorz Przemyk because the idea was to show Grzegorz Przemyk in the 15-minute introduction and next shift the narrative to manifest it's Jurek Popiel who's the lead. A lady from the audience observed that in 9 million Belarus every family has had such a situation so it touched her heart and she cried a few times. Jurek's hairstyle was based on the fact his mother was a hairdresser and his clothes showed counterculture elements. The makers hesitated how much the mother must have known so shifted the narrative here and there a couple of times before establishing the final version. Actors' own ideas weren't welcome, the director would sometimes tell them: "You can do that in your director's debut." The makers' knowledge of the events came from Czarek Łazarkiewicz's book and Instytut Pamięci Narodowej (Institute of National Remembrance) documents. They limited the number of characters from the book. Most of the protagonists are dead now. The prosecutor woman was buried with honours, having suffered no repercussions after the fall of communism. Some viewers, including myself, noticed references to the present political situation in Poland in the film. The director rubbished our impressions: "Tam nie było bezpośrednich komentarzy do teraz. To, że się razem zsunęło, to już trochę nie nasza wina." ("There were no direct comments on now. The fact they overlapped is kind of not our fault.") Instead, references to the director's earlier "Ostatnia rodzina" ("The Last Family") can be found, e.g. a security agent takes out a Yazoo record - Beksiński was a fan - and counsel Bednarkiewicz has his painting in his office.