A Polish man who returns home after the death of his father unearths a secret about the now-deceased Jewish residents of his village.A Polish man who returns home after the death of his father unearths a secret about the now-deceased Jewish residents of his village.A Polish man who returns home after the death of his father unearths a secret about the now-deceased Jewish residents of his village.
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Featured reviews
Gruesome But Absolutely Outstanding
- all these actors did a marvelous and very deep performance, and the very core of the problem is shown extremely well. Thye final discovery is so tragic for Kalina Brothers, so bad, so terrible to know, that one of them cannot bear the truth anymore, and the other does what he really has to. The final scene with Jewsish relatives of murdered locals is deeply sad, touching, and really great. I highly recommend this excellent film and commend it 10 out of 10. This is a superb work of Wladyslaw Pasikowski - he did his real best.
Director Władysław Pasikowski chooses elements from a 'thriller' film to speak about events of the past in his latest film "Pokłosie"/ "Aftermath".
When We Lose Humanity
Two brothers find themselves at the heart of the story, which begins as a some type of thriller/conspiracy the likes of which we have seen before. For a while the spirit of "Chinatown" comes to mind, and a beautifully crafted film slowly unfurls a narrative where the mystery expands, the cast of the dueling parties grows as new layers are revealed, and eventually the film combines elements seen in old fashioned thrillers, horror movies, and even a touch of noir here and there.
What takes the film to a higher category is that what we see here has basis on real historical events, and as we realize this, our souls hurt because the pain is too much, and it might be that there is the possibility that we can become one of the parties involved. After all, free will has always been at the core of the worst human decisions in history. Either we want to destroy, to save, or to remain quiet and allow the evils to continue and grow. Liars have for years assisted those who either killed or stole, and they condoned quietly the actions of others by not interfering.
Films like these makes us remember how ignorant we are, in many different degrees by either not learning enough, not being willing to change and by not facing what really exists in our own souls.
Tough Movie to Watch-Provocative Ending (No Spoiler Here!)
Layered with numerous subplots about brother-brother relationship, the role of the church, the morals of the people, the dreariness of rural living in Poland-the main peeling of the onion unfolds in the last few minutes and the results are spellbinding.
The twists and turns kept me engrossed and I found the acting so good that I had to remind myself that this was not a documentary. Having said that we were reminded by a poster that this is based on actual events, indeed that made it even more provocative and upsetting.
It's the kind of movie that will have you thinking about it for along time.
Adds A Whole New Chapter To World War History
Brilliantly directed by Władysław Pasikowski, the first act of the film is kind of slow, less informative & tells a completely different story than what's presented in the second & third acts. Nicely photographed, superbly acted, finely scored & becoming potent in the middle of the story from where it feels like this film will explode any moment & eventually does when the devastating secrets about the fate of the town's Jews are finally revealed.
On an overall scale, Aftermath (Pokłosie) could've been a better film if it had used a more tighter narrative but nonetheless manages to achieve what it set out to do & brings on the screen a horrifying secret that many around the world still aren't aware of and ends up delivering an even more powerful punch that won't be easily forgotten. Undoubtedly deserving a wider global audience, Aftermath is one film you shouldn't miss out if you're game for Holocaust-related cinema.
Did you know
- Quotes
Franciszek Kalina: So, what made you do it?
Józef Kalina: Beats me. So many things aren't right, but we live with them anyway because there's nothing you can do about it. But I think that some things are more wrong than others. It's like, you see a guy lying drunk in the street, you walk on by, 'cause you think, "He's drunk," and you got your own problems and all. But when it's a child lying there, you just can't walk by. Understand?
Franciszek Kalina: Go on.
Józef Kalina: The Germans destroyed that cemetery. I can't help that, I wasn't even born then. They paved the road with gravestones, now that's very wrong, but I didn't know about that either. It was only when folks started talking about covering up that old road with asphalt that I thought, "No way." At first I hoped the county would do something, but then I saw people driving up and down the road, all happy that it's nice and even.
Franciszek Kalina: I understand all that, but why you? We never had anything to do with the Yids.
Józef Kalina: Beats me, I'm telling you I don't know why. It made me feel bad. I kept thinking, "This is wrong." What if someone tore up our parents' headstone and put it by the church door so folks wouldn't get their feet muddy?
Franciszek Kalina: Joziu, but these are total strangers. They're not even our people. Not to mention they've been dead 100 years. Your family's alive. Why should they suffer because of some Jewish foolery?
Józef Kalina: I know it's wrong, but I had to do it.
Franciszek Kalina: Jews in Chicago, I know what they're like... What was that about the church?
Józef Kalina: I found out that they laid some of the stones around the well.
Franciszek Kalina: Józek, don't even think about it.
Józef Kalina: Why not? The parish priest doesn't mind. He said I could take them away. That young priest's not too happy about it, but there's nothing he can do. The parish priest is on my side.
Franciszek Kalina: Just don't do it.
Józef Kalina: It's wrong, don't you see?
Franciszek Kalina: It'll end in tears, I'm telling you. What about those lumberjacks, huh? Think they beat you up for no reason?
Józef Kalina: Come on, that was about soccer. They wanted to know who I root for.
Franciszek Kalina: So you went and said Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Józef Kalina: They were drunk and looking for a fight is all.
Franciszek Kalina: [gets up from the table and holds Józef's face in his hands] Why should you, of all people, care about their dead?
Józef Kalina: Well, you know, there's no one left to look after them.
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Written by Jan Duszynski
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- The Resistance Fighter
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Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $1,696,330
- Runtime
- 1h 47m(107 min)
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- 2.35 : 1