This Polish drama from Pawel Pawlikowski is about as far removed from a Hollywood movie as can be produced.  It is slowly paced, made with long, static camera shots using only natural light, about a character who rarely talks or changes expressions. There is no artificially-induced excitement or suspense, only the fundamental need of two characters to reconcile their lives to the secrets of the past.

In 1962 a pretty young novitiate at a convent named Anna (Agata Trzebuchowska) is ordered to meet her only relative, an aunt, before she can take her vows.  The aunt, Wanda Cruz (Agata Kulesza), doesn’t really want to tell Anna about her past, but eventually does so.  Anna is really Ida, a Jew whose parents were killed during World War II.  Ida wants to know why her parents were killed and where they are buried, so Wanda takes her on a road trip to uncover the family secrets once and for all.

Pawlikowski’s rigid frames are as cold and uncompromising as the story.  Ida, raised in the convent, learns a little about the outside world while trying to stay true to her tightly-held beliefs.  Worldly Wanda, a judge by trade, increasingly loses control of herself the more she discovers about her beloved sister and her family.  Eventually they learn the truth, and although the reasons why are not fully explained — as so often occurs in real life — the consequences are dramatic for both women.

There is nothing warm and fuzzy about any of this; Pawlikowski’s film is a stark and unapologetic mirror of life.  People are who they are, and they do what they do.  It’s not all sturm und drang but it is pretty heavy stuff, delivered without sentiment or sensationalism.  Seeing a movie like this once in a while is a good reminder of what other cultures can produce, how other people see the world, and why Hollywood is not the be-all, end-all of moviemaking.  This isn’t a film I would recommend to all, but if you’re up for it, it’s a thoughtful experience.  ☆ ☆ ☆.  18 June 2014.