Illusion

Hanna is an elementary school teacher in the port city of Gdansk, where her daughter Karolina disappeared a few months earlier on her way to University. The police investigation yields no results and Hanna's husband Piotr seems to have given up hope. However, Hanna does not back down: she searches for clues in unexpected places and help from unexpected people and switches from hope to despair. Clues (some of them scarcely explained) appear and disappear, or are shown meaningless.

The movie is not a police procedural; it is rather about Hanna's desperate search for a point of light that could give her a reason to endure the unendurable and confront her destroyed life. A dim point of light appears at the end but, as in real life, does not come from the expected direction. At this point we understand a story that Hanna tells his class at the beginning about Pando, a 100 acre forest in Utah where every tree is connected to the others by a massive underground root system.

This is a quality movie. Agata Buzek, playing Hanna delivers an outstanding performance: every thought and emotion of the character is transmitted to the viewer subtly, sometimes just with a look, as in the very moving last scene. Direction by Marta Minorowicz is fluid and smooth. Script (by Minorowicz and Piotr Borkowski) is tight and leaves some points unexplained as in the real world. Last but not least, cinematography by Pavel Chorzepa captures perfectly the melancholic landscapes of the Baltic Coast in winter.

If you require non-stop action, pat solutions to all questions and a galloping pace, steer clear. Iluzja, a Polish film on Netflix, is a quiet, gentle study of a teacher's search for her lost daughter.

No spoiler alerts: Agata Buzek (Hannah) delivers as fine a screen performance as I've seen. Each and every thought, idea and emotion can be read in her eyes and on her face without any facial gymnastics. Hollywood take note and take stock.

There is a moment more than halfway through when/where the character/actress ripped my heart out. I would certainly like to see her in other roles. The rest of the cast lends sturdy support.

First and foremost Iluzja is a character study, not a who-dunnit and its various layers are subtly peeled away to expose the inner self. It treads a fine line between illusion and reality. I was thoroughly engrossed.

9/10.