Birth Certificate

"Birth Certificate" is an anthology of three stories that depict the German occupation of Poland through the eyes of children, each separated from their parents. The stories of Janek, Zbyszek, and Mirka each have their own merit, with the emotional intensity building from one to the next. However, the third story is a landmark of world cultural history-an astonishing achievement. "Drop of Blood" (Kropla Krwi) follows a young Jewish girl with the dark eyes of a Burne-Jones angel who has seen too much. Beata Barszczewska inhabits the role of Mirka, who, to escape the Gestapo's clutches, is given the Polish name Marysia Malinowska and a falsified birth certificate. The film comes alive visually in this segment's opening scene, as Mirka sombrely wanders through the rooms of a ransacked tenement. Torn, stained wallpaper suggests a cultural desecration, with the building's inhabitants likely 'resettled' to Treblinka.

This section is filled with heart-rending, deeply communicative moments that rely not on overt violence but on restraint. They are the whisper that follows the implied fire and earthquake. The segment concludes on a defining concept of a drop of blood, as the brainwashed Gestapo officers believe every drop of 'Aryan' blood is precious-a galling display of selective, arbitrary empathy. By focusing on children, the film forecloses any option of blaming the victim; it is simply impossible to cast guilt on such innocence.

Along with Górecki's Symphony No. 3, "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs", "Drop of Blood" (Kropla Krwi) should be preserved forever as an impeccable memorial to a time when cruelty became humanity's organising principle. The Holocaust has left an enduring existential crisis: how could men brought up listening to Mozart still end up feeding children to a brazen Molech? If our nature harbours defects this profound-gullibility, on-call callousness, and a malefic bent-we must remain watchful against the enemy within.

The movie consists of three episodes of WWII in Poland, all centered on children. The title translates to Birth Certificate, a reference to the third episode.

In the first, episode, On the Road, a young boy and a soldier are thrown together by chance. The time is a few days after the beginning of the German invasion on September 1, 1939. The boy has lost contact with his family fleeing East from Warsaw. The soldier, driving in the same direction a rickety horse cart is in accidental possession of the now useless documents of his destroyed unit. He is looking for remnants of Polish forces and nonexistent French and British soldiers he believes have been sent in Poland's help. German brutality is visible at a distance.

In the second episode, Letter from the Camp, three young brothers and their mother try to cope with the father's absence; he is an officer imprisoned in a German camp. His letters offer hope, but are inconsistent with the savagery of the German occupation, now in plain sight. The third episode, A Drop of Blood, exposes in a darkly humorous way the Germans' monstrous misconceptions on race. All episodes are open ended; life goes on, and relief is not in sight.

Of course, a black-and-white movie in episodes about civilians caught in war brings to memory Rosellini's Paisà and other movies of the forties and fifties but the feeling is very different; while Rossellini doesn't stint on drama, this movie is subdued and low key, without being less effective. Direction by Stanislaw Rózewicz is atmospheric and compelling, supported by outstanding cinematography by Stanislaw Loth. Good acting all around.

This is one of the more than 200 classic Polish movies that have been digitally restored recently with excellent results. Many are available on the Web or the rental services.

I think the beauty of the film is that each story annotates the reality from a different experiential perspective.

Let me try to explain myself with the analogy of a football game (in no way I intend to equate war with football, just that I can't think of a better way to explain myself): 1) The first perspective is of a tourist who is at loss in comprehending the hooliganism reigning a city, without realizing that it is because of a high-stake football game between two close rivals. 2) The second perspective is of a spectator in the stadium who is experiencing emotional dissonance on seeing his side lose in the game. 3) And the final perspective is of a player of the losing side, maybe a substitute who is called in during the last ten minutes of the game.

Each perspective is more immediate than the previous one (secondary observer, primary observer and participant) and gradually takes us into the thick of the action. All perspectives combine to present a multi-dimensional view of a collapse. Brilliant.

Stanislaw Rozewicz takes on the Nazi occupation as seen through the eyes of children in three short stories based on the prose of Tadeusz Rozewicz. A beautiful and sad story in times of war that transcends time and space. It is one the very few films prove that without showing gruesome images convincingly portray the misery of the war through the eyes of children. It tells a captivating and enchanting story of innocence, rebellion, and freedom representative of the opposing political systems. I liked the film and it won me over as much as possible, but in our case, it is probably not the kind of stories that remain etched in the memory forever especially the last segment. It is so Gripping that it goes to your heart and bone. Equally crucial in communicating the emotions of the characters and the meanings of the film is the musical score, it's leaves a layer of frost to the depressing scenes. The acting is also at the top level. The first kid is convincing and made a great impression, the last kid, so brilliant in the role of Jewish girl which is probably the highlight of this film. I really loved this movie because of the emotions that it gave and because I believe it represents something that is true. I also liked it because of the plot which shows us children who reap for the mistakes of the older ones. The success in this I believe that it came from the direction of Stanislaw Rozewicz and Cinematographer Stanislaw Loth who did a really good job.