KLEZMER (2015) - ♦♦♦

Directed by - Piotr Chrzan

Written by - Piotr Chrzan

Starring - Leslaw Zurek, Szymon Nowak, Weronika Lewon

"KLEZMER takes place in the delicate cultural context of a Poland during the course of the second world war in which Poles are encouraged to trade in Jews to German authorities in exchange for money or other earthly goods. Interactions between a number of characters, and an event that shapes the course of their day, as they stumble upon the body of a Jewish man on the brink of death defines the narrative of PIOTR CHRZAN. 

The film strangely feels like a dark comedy immersed in a conventionally dramatic and tense situation, which makes it an intriguing and unusual examination of human morality. The contrast such a theatrical structure creates with the more cinematic visuals for which cinematography SYLWESTER KAZMIERCZAK is responsible - it is all shot outdoors, in the distinctive Polish forests. 

The drawback of KLEZMER is that eventually, the experiment becomes wearisome, and the character's individual intentions dragged out to the point of seeming fickle or simply not interesting. The pace is also not perfect, simultanously unable to convey the quietness of the film, or make it seem exciting, and sometimes cutting into the tension of each of the induvidual scenes and distracting from some interesting interactions between the characters."

Drama, Poland