The Polish Bride (1998) User Reviews

An unusual love story

[nqure · 7/10 · 11 February 2002]

Anna, an abused Polish immigrant forced to work as a prostitute, is rescued by Henk, a taciturn and reclusive farmer. Gradually, as Anna recovers, Henk slowly wins her trust.

The film is a subtle, tender love story. Anna, in turn, affects Henk's life bringing a sense of vitality (she sings in the empty house) which brings the emotionally repressed farmer out of his shell. Clearly, this is a man with much love to give but who has retreated himself for one reason or another.

It's a very slow paced film, perhaps too much so, but then it is more a character study of two very different, but equally lonely people falling in love.

My major criticsim of the film is its ending. Anna's 'employers' return and are brutally murdered; I thought this was quite well done resolving the thriller element of the plot quite effectively. However, Anna & Henk, finally consummate their love immediately after the murders. This seemed out of place and harmony with the rest of the film. It might have been better if the lovers had consummated their passion first before the return of the dreaded pimps, thus adding to the tension of whether their relationship would survive.

An interesting film and I think one of the Dutch reviewers was a little harsh on his nation's recent film output. 'Antonia's Line' and 'Character' are very distinctive films; they may not be huge 'hits' or garner many plaudits, but they are original. In a cinematic world which is highly derivative, that is no such bad thing.

Greatly told and shot movie.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 8/10 · 6 October 2007]

It's not a movie with many spoken lines in it. After all the two main characters hardly speak the same language. The movie allows its images to mostly tell the entire story. I sort of always like this, since after all that's also how movies were intended to be in the first place. The great camera-work and compositions of course help with this. It also makes the movie a slow going one but this works beautiful and effective for the movie its story and storytelling. Still, because the movie is rather short, it tends to rush things a little, especially toward the end. It's also the reason why the movie ends sort of on a false note.

This movie is a real character movie. Almost the entire movie focuses purely on just the two main characters. The characters don't explain anything to each other about how and what. They just accept things as they are and don't look back, even though the both of them, as implied, had issues in the past. They are definitely not at love at first but they also most certainly don't hate each other. They slowly and steadily grow- and open up toward each other and also learn from each other, in many different ways. It doesn't make this movie 'just' another unusual love-story but something that goes deeper and therefor also gets more effectively shown on the screen.

The movie gives a good portrayal of the farm life and the empty flat real peaceful nature. I think it's a real missed opportunity from Dutch film-makers to not shoot more movies there. It's cheap to make, also since you don't have to close down any roads or shops or stuff like that and it's of course beautiful looking, which really gives the movie a lot of atmosphere without having to manipulate or set up anything. And abroad, people always seem to like these type of movies and these movies, with this kind of atmosphere, have a fair chance at the international market and festivals. After all, this movie even received a Golden Globe nomination for best foreign film.

I never thought I would hear an Ede Staal song in a Dutch, or just any movie. Ede Staal and his music are unmistakably connected to the entire province of Groningen. His songs are often about the province and they perfectly capture the life, feeling and atmosphere of the province. So, one of his most famous songs 't Hogelaand' totally fits within the movie, captures its atmosphere and what it tries to tell.

Jaap Spijkers is a good actor, although I admit that he is a better actor now then he used to be 10 years ago, at the time of this movie. Or perhaps it's just that he isn't really the sort of actor for the leading type of roles. Same goes for Monic Hendrickx by the way, who at the time still was a rookie in the movie business. He did a fairly good job with his accent, although people who are actually not from Groningen but play a Groninger character always tend to make the accent sound way too thick.

The movie is about some relevant issues, such as Polish woman being forced to work in the prostitution in Western countries, the hard financial situation and time for Dutch farmers and the slinking population, amount farms and shops in the rural areas.

The movie is currently getting an Australian treatment as well, named "Unfinished Sky", again with Monic Hendrickx in the same role. The story will probably work the same but will the atmosphere as well? Doubtful, which is a negative thing, since it mostly was the atmosphere that carried the movie and almost entirely told the movie its story and emotions.

A really great and also certainly unique and a one of a kind movie. The Australian version won't change that.

8/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

A tacit romance in a tranquil setting .....

[PimpinAinttEasy · 8/10 · 3 March 2016]

Dear Karim Traidia,

The Polish Bride is a very touching love story of two lonely people. It is a great study of a relationship in a rural setting. While there is a crime element, that is not really the crucial part of the film. In fact, the crime aspect was a bit of an aberration.

A beaten up prostitute arrives at the house of a Dutch farmer. He takes her in and their relationship develops as she intrudes into his lonely existence. You said a lot of things very subtly, Karim. The revival of the lonely farmer's life after the prostitute enters his space. Maybe a comment on the breakdown of the family in Europe? The farmer's sadness about the destruction of the old ways of life when you could live off the land (that beautiful spoken word song with a simple piano foregrounded this theme). Trafficking and ill-treatment of beautiful Polish women.

The dialogs are sparse because they don't speak the same language. This perfectly complements the tranquil mood of the film. I loved the way some of the scenes were framed. Like when the couple are sitting apart in the front room. The door in the middle of the frame is slightly open. You can see the trees swaying in the wind through the open door. There were so many beautiful shots of the pastoral setting. It really is a beautiful and idyllic film.

Best Regards, Pimpin.

(8/10)

Tender but unusual love story

[dilbert · 29 October 1998]

A lonely farmer falls in love with a woman who literally falls into his life. I knew what was going to happen, as would anyone who's ever been to the movies before, but I was riveted by the journey to the inevitable conclusion, and that's what made this film so enjoyable. Only one element mars the believability of this love story, and you'll know it when you see it.

The sound of silence

[frankde-jong · 7/10 · 29 May 2022]

In "The Polish bride" a Polish woman (Monic Hendrickx), victim of women trafficking, finds refuge by a single farmer in the Dutch province of Groningen.

Their relationship is characterized above all by silence. The Polish woman has only a flawed knowledge of the Dutch language, and the farmer is not a heavy talker.

Partly caused by this lack of communication the relationship is arduous at first. The farmer appreciates the order that the woman creates in his household, but finds it difficult to get accustomed to the fact that no longer everything goes according to his rules. Especially when the woman insists on altering his table manners, tension arises. On the other hand the woman finds it hard to understand that a man is nice without expecting sexual favors in return.

Nevertheless as time goes by the two slowly grow together, resulting in a spectacular finale when the pimp of the woman reappears.

"The Polish bride" is an ode to the Dutch province of Groningen, with beautiful shots of the (flat) landscape and the music of the Groninger minstrel Ede Staal (1941 - 1986).

Remarkable is the fact that this ode to a Dutch province in the North of the country is made by an Algerian director who came th the Netherlands when he was 30, graduates from the film academy when he was in his 40s and made this film while being in his 50's.

A beautiful time capsule

[Hokusai · 10/10 · 23 February 2007]

I love this movie, but for slightly different reasons than mentioned here. I'm from the Netherlands, and I grew up in a village in the eastern part of Friesland, which is very similar to the countryside of Groningen.

Halfway during the movie I noticed there were tears in my eyes. Oddly enough, it wasn't during an emotional scene between the main characters. It was a shot of the countryside of Groningen. The scenery wasn't extraordinarily beautiful or anything. Yet somehow, it had managed to perfectly capture the feeling the Dutch countryside gives me whenever I'm visiting my parents.

And then I realized it wasn't just the scenery, it also was the slow pace of the movie, the lack of dialogue between the two main characters, or the lack of much happening at all during most of the movie. The solitude of the farmer's life, the gentle moments between the main characters, the two of them being all alone in their own little world.

That one of the characters was a Polish woman on the run from pimps is just a McGuffin, this movie really isn't about that. It's about the feeling of living on the north-eastern Dutch countryside. If cinematography feels a little odd now and then, it's because it's completely focused on capturing the feeling of being on a Dutch farm, the story and it's characters being less important.

People are remembered. Exciting events are remembered. What movie is about remembering the feeling of living at a certain place at a certain time? OK, and what if we're not talking about someone's memories of growing up? Yeah, those kind of movies are rare, aren't they? This movie is one of them, and one of the best.

When people are going to watch this movie in a couple of decades, if they're still capable of investing themselves into a slow paced, technically inferior movie with an unexciting storyline compared to whatever they'll be used to by then, they're going to experience what it's like to live the the sobering, lonely yet somehow also magical and sometimes beautiful life of a Dutch farmer and his Polish bride.

This is what cinema is all about

[MrBlondee · 9/10 · 20 December 2005]

I'm from the countryside of Groningen, where this magnificent film is shot. If you live here, you know there is some kind of strange and pleasant atmosphere floating on it's land..... The Algerian director Traïda showed that feeling spotless. The images of the endlessly flat open land and the little forests growing in it are perfect, the light and sky are done heavenly and very warm, something I miss in a lot of Dutch films. (this is personally by far the best Dutch flick ever) The story is about a typical lonely Groninger farmer living his life harvesting potatoes and mourning over the loss he has lived. Then all of the sudden a pretty Polish girl falls literally in his life after escaping from her pimp boss. The story is about the love that develops between the two and the changes they both have to go through to let it fit. I won't spoil it for you, just watch this amazing film and be open for the truly amazing beauty of the Groninger land and it's story.

Extremely recommendable for everyone around the world. A+ 10/10

..don't forget to see this movie

[Marcvdb · 10/10 · 4 January 1999]

I've seen this movie on an open-air festival in Deurne.

It was raining a bit but none of the visitors stood up and walked away. The characters in this movie seem so real. There's such a big tension in this movie. Tension between the Anna and her pimp. Tension between the farmer and Anna. The two characters seem to have a struggle within themselves, which makes what happens in the end inevitable.

A very enjoyable movie, with a special kind of thrill during the scenes.

[lionking-4 · 9/10 · 5 October 1999]

The developement of the relation between Anna and Henk is unusual, that's also the reason why the movie is interesting and -in a special way- exciting. Especially the non-dialogues between them, with different reasons for each person. Henk is introvert and doesn't speak Polish, Anna simply doesn't speak Dutch. But from the beginning of the movie I sensed some kind of love and care from Henk to Anna, and vice-versa. It's touchy to see their 'love & tenderness' growing. Very 'romantic', for those who want to see it!

An unforgettable and intelligent film

[pampeano · 10/10 · 31 March 2001]

Coming from Holland, this movie is one of most unforgettable work teachers of the seventh art that narrates us a special history.

One night, Anna, a polish prostitute, escapes from two mafiosi, after being violated and hit. Henk, a dutch farmer finds her on the ground of in his lands, and decide to help her, to cure her, and giving a place her in his farm. Anna doesn't speak to Dutch, and Henk doesn't speak Polish. One of the communication methods that use is through the expressions. But Henk gives Anna a book in Dutch where she goes to learning the language. When being in the Dutch farmer's house, Anna works for the cleaning him the house, in exchange for money that then is send to her little daughter Krysztyna that is in Poland, and at the same time teaching him manners. But the dark times that her step, they return, since both mafiosi that bought her the they are looking for. Henk will make the possible to protect her. The love between both will reborn step by step. For her performance, Monique Hendrickx won the Best Actress Awards in Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema in 1999. Karim Traidia, dutch director of algerian origin, achieves a story that he talks about the love between two different people in culture. But the language is not everything, is only the feeling of both people, since it is said that the love surpasses all the barriers. My opinion: An advisable film that should see everybody. Excellent, Wonderful.

No sentimental Hollywood stuff

[fkarsten · 9/10 · 26 January 1999]

Pleasant to watch. Subtle humor and a convincing love story. If I were to fall in love I'd like it to be in this manner.

Too much left unsaid - Contains Spoilers

[psteele · 23 April 2001]

I was thrown off balance during The Polish Bride, when Anna's "employers" return to the farm and Henk kills one with a shotgun. Even though they had worked him over and killed his dog on their previous visit, the sudden violence was a shock and seemed too improbable. It wasn't just that Henk had not involved the police but that he when he fired it wasn't quite self-defense. He didn't try to drive the men away by threatening them and didn't wait for them to fire first or even point a gun at him. He just came right out and blew the man away, apparently having made up his mind there was no other way to deal with these men. Apparently they wanted Anna, a Polish immigrant, to work as a prostitute, but even this is little explained, and one of them was the man who had raped Anna, but again, the movie takes little pains to let us know this is the same man. So, it's quite a twist to suddenly be watching a crime movie. Up to this point it's been a characteristically European drama in which the last thing you expect is this kind of violence. A young man from Holland in the audience commented that it's not at all unusual for the rural Dutch to deal with problems in such a way, without involving the police, whom, he said, are mostly useless in any event, if only because such crimes are so rare.

After Anna bludgeons the second man, the excruciatingly slow courtship between them suddenly bursts into passion, and they have sex on the floor next to the bloody body of the man just gruesomely killed. One surprise after another. So they've finally broken the last bit of ice between them and have become a couple? No, surprise again. They retire to their separate rooms and she leaves mysteriously for Poland before returning, if it's not Henk's dream, with her daughter. So are they going to live happily ever after on a farm with the graves of two slain gangsters? Who would want to think this is emotionally possible, even if it were realistic in that community? The inherent unsatisfactoriness of such an ending makes you look for other meanings, but without such an ending, the ironies and bizarre darkness of the film only seem greater. Whereas Under the Sun leaves you feeling there's something strong and decent in the troubled human spirit, The Polish Bride leaves you in some doubt.

The fascinating elements of this film are all the things that are left unexplained, the way we have to guess, interpret and imagine what's going on behind the events and gestures and expressions we witness. But probably too much is left unsaid. And not just the fact that Anna's employers are underworld figures despite the legality of prostitution in Holland. If Anna is afraid of intimacy with Henk because of having been raped, she doesn't show it, or the movie doesn't let her show it. Her emotional state seems to heal faster than the wound over her eye, and she becomes so comfortable with Henk so quickly, that it's his sexual abstinence that has us more puzzled.

One of the effective and priceless scenes is the meal in which a mother-like Anna officiously schools Henk in her etiquette of eating and praying and Henk nearly erupts in rage and frustration, unable to understand why he is allowing her of all people to treat him as if he were a child, but in a kind of curiosity and amazement, let's her go on. It's in such little ways that we're given to glimpse Henk's unspoken feelings for Anna.