Tatarak

Production and year: Poland, 2009 Genre: Social drama Screenplay: Andrzej Wajda Director: Andrzej Wajda Music: Paweł Mykietyn Cast: Krystyna Janda, Paweł Szajda, Jan Englert Medical theme: battling cancer, dying Description: Tatarak is a film that surprised me very positively. A feature film, partly documentary, with elements reminiscent of theatrical monologues. But the form isn’t important. The film shows how people suffering from an incurable disease try to live out the last days of their lives. How the family copes with it, and what the situation looks like after the patient has passed away. The entire film delivers an incredible message, and Krystyna Janda’s monologues portray love, devotion to a loved one, and the suffering that comes with it in the face of a terminal illness in an incredibly simple, direct, and precise way. In this film, the brutal truth is presented without mincing words. Andrzej Wajda once again demonstrated his incredible artistry. In a single film, he has woven together the narrative of Iwaszkiewicz’s “Tatarak,” themes from Sandor Marai’s “The Sudden Call,” and the most extraordinary element—autobiographical details from Krystyna Janda’s diary “Last Notes,” which describe her husband’s death. An extraordinary film. A must-see.