Figurant (2023)
Genre: Drama / History
Duration: 103 minuten
Alternative title: Strawman
Country:
Poland
Directed by: Robert Glinski
Stars: Mateusz Wieclawek, Marianna Zydek and Adrian Brząkała
IMDb score:
6,2 (273)
This movie is not available on US streaming services.
Reviews & comments
Vikanohara
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- 953 messages
- 1344 votes
To start with, what a nice-looking poster!
Furthermore, this is also quite a fascinating psychological portrait of a young, ambitious Comrade Bronek Budny who goes to work for the Służba Bezpieczeństwa (SB), the communist secret police and security service in the People's Republic of Poland. Shortly after the service's establishment, he is tasked with shadowing Auxiliary Bishop Karol Wojtyła (the future Pope John Paul II), which he would eventually do from 1958 to 1978, until Wojtyła became Pope.
Now, there is simply nothing objectionable to be found against the devout Wojtyła, and paradoxically, this makes Budny increasingly frustrated and paranoid, until he becomes truly obsessive. Through years of wiretapping and closely following Wojtyła's every move, he begins to develop a very close bond, even though the two men have never met and Wojtyła was unaware of the spy's existence. In doing so, he also crosses the line in various ways (including framing someone to blackmail them, with fatal consequences), and ultimately creates his own personal cell in which he is imprisoned. The ultimate consequence is that he has wasted his youthful life trying to discredit someone, while primarily destroying his own and that of those closest to him.
While the story has some merit, the way it was turned into a film is unfortunately less my cup of tea. However, this honest portrait deserves more attention than it receives.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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