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Drama

Elephant

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Bartek lives in a village in the Podhale region, where he runs a small farm and takes care of his lonely and possessive mother. One day he meets Dawid, a slightly older man who comes to visit his family after many years of absence. Affection quickly develops between the two, followed by desire that Bartek suppressed for years.

Release Date : 2023-05-11

Language :Polish

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Tongariro Releasing

Production Country : Poland

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Jan Hrynkiewicz

Character Name : Bartek

Original Name : Jan Hrynkiewicz

Gender : Male

Paweł Tomaszewski

Character Name : Dawid

Original Name : Paweł Tomaszewski

Gender : Male

Ewa Skibińska

Character Name : Bartek's mother

Original Name : Ewa Skibińska

Gender : Female

Ewa Kolasińska-Szramel

Character Name : Danuta

Original Name : Ewa Kolasińska-Szramel

Gender : Female

Wiktoria Filus

Character Name : Daria

Original Name : Wiktoria Filus

Gender : Female

Michał Pawlik

Character Name : Marcin

Original Name : Michał Pawlik

Gender : Male

Maciej Kosiacki

Character Name : Daniel

Original Name : Maciej Kosiacki

Gender : Male

Halina Jabłonowska

Character Name : Janina

Original Name : Halina Jabłonowska

Gender : Female

Boguslaw Repelewicz

Character Name : Pawel

Original Name : Boguslaw Repelewicz

Gender : Male

Ireneusz Pastuszak

Character Name : Dawid's father

Original Name : Ireneusz Pastuszak

Gender : Male

Tomasz Zaród

Character Name : Inn Manager

Original Name : Tomasz Zaród

Gender : Male

Wojciech Skibiński

Character Name : Daniel's father

Original Name : Wojciech Skibiński

Gender : Male

Aleksandra Piotrowska

Character Name : Zuza

Original Name : Aleksandra Piotrowska

Gender : Female

Reviews

C

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2023-10-22

"Bartek" (Jan Hrynkiewicz) is a young lad, pretty stretched, living with his slightly over-bearing mother (Ewa Skibinska) on their struggling farm. His life is pretty mundane until the arrival of "Dawid" (Pawel Tomaszewski). He has returned home after the death of his estranged father, and "Bartek" agrees to meet him at the station. That's their first meeting, but gradually we are exposed to their increasing affection for each other. Each seems to offer the other a sense of hope, of the possibility of escape from the drudgery of a rural Polish existence that is rife with religious intolerance and bigotry - examples of which are soon demonstrated clearly as people around their village begin to realise the boys are not just friends. Director Kamil Krawczycki builds a gentle love story here without straying into cheesy sentimentality. The rather potent foil offered by Skibinska works well as a temper to the boy's own, frequently quite messy, story and also illustrates well the values of family loyalty - even if it might not be her own preferred scenario. Though perhaps a little predictable, it's a well constructed drama with three engaging performances that are well supported by Viktoria Filus's "Daria" as we conclude in a way that I could only describe as, rather sadly, all too realistically. It serves to remind those of us living in Western Europe in 2023 that acceptance of same sex relationships is by no means a universal fact across our part of this continent and is worth ninety minutes of your time just to remind us of what not to take for granted.