Silent Land – Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art

There is nothing idyllic about the silence of the title, although the film is set during a holiday on an Italian island, where Anna (Agnieszka Żulewska) and Adam (Dobromir Dymecki) are renting a house with a view. As we know, views are beautiful from afar, so the couple prefer to keep their distance. A full fridge, thick wallets, a door equipped with an alarm and half-closed eyes protect them from contact with reality… Until they discover that the swimming pool doesn’t work. The malfunction, which they demand be fixed immediately, will dangerously infringe their comfort zone. Chaos, fear and death will intrude into their comfortable, automated life, and the blissful silence will turn out to be a mere conspiracy of silence. Woszczyńska’s suspenseful film allows boiling emotions to slowly reach the smooth surface. But the endangered marital status quo is only a metaphor for the wider social alienation and indifference with which we’ve been watching dead bodies float for years. The theme of lost innocence is also referenced by the cast: Jean-Marc Barr, the protagonist of the cult film The Big Blue, plays the role of the diver.