L'esercizio del potere

This largely forgotten film is exceptional in every way. A Canada-Israel-France co-production set in 1979 and released in 1990, it was filmed in Warsaw and Gdansk and stars two Hollywood actors playing-rather convincingly-Poles caught in the communist system of deception, intrigue, and party loyalty. A rather smug Jozef Borski is suddenly banished from the politburo. When he asks, "What did I do?" he is told, "Nothing." This leads to a bewildering set of events that throw his family life into turmoil. Donald Sutherland and Anne Archer play the leads with poignant authenticity, and the filming on location gives real insight into life in Poland before the Soviet Union and the Communist Party released their grip on the nation. Note also that the Polish national anthem and the Polish version of the "Happy Birthday" song, "Sto Lat," can be heard at the beginning of the movie.