''Leave No Traces'' () is a 2021 Polish

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Jan P. Matuszyński Jan Paweł Matuszyński (; born 23 April 1984, Katowice) is a Polish film director and a producer of documentary films. Life In 2012, he graduated in Film and Television Directing at the Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School in Katowice. In 2014, he ...

. It was selected to compete for the

Golden Lion The Golden Lion () is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguished prizes. In 1970, a ...

at the

78th Venice International Film Festival The 78th annual Venice Film Festival, Venice International Film Festival was held from 1 to 11 September 2021, at Venice Lido in Italy. This edition marked the festival's return to its full format following the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, COVID ...

. It was selected as the Polish entry for the Best International Feature Film at the

94th Academy Awards The 94th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The awards were scheduled after their usual late February dat ...

. The film is based on the book ''Żeby nie było śladów'' by

Cezary Łazarewicz Cezary is the Polish version of the given name Caesar. Notable people with the name include: *Cezary Balicki (born 1958), Polish bridge player *Cezary Czpak (born 1982), Polish footballer, playing as a midfielder *Cezary Geroń (1960–1998), Polis ...

, which received the

Nike Award The Nike Literary Award (, pronounced ) is a literary prize awarded each year for the best book of a single living author writing in Polish and published the previous year. It is widely considered the most important award for Polish literatu ...

in 2017.

Plot

On May 12, 1983,

Grzegorz Przemyk Grzegorz Przemyk (17 May 1964 – 14 May 1983) was an aspiring Polish poet from Warsaw, who was murdered by members of the Communist police force, the Milicja Obywatelska (Citizens' Militia). His killing was one of many such politically moti ...

, the son of opposition poet Barbara Sadowska, is arrested and brutally beaten by a police patrol. He dies two days later. Poland is still under

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

, imposed by the communist regime to suppress the

Solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

movement. The only witness to the violent assault is Grzegorz's friend, Jurek Popiel, who decides to fight for justice and testify against the police. Initially, the state apparatus, including the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

, underestimates the situation. However, when 20,000 people march behind Przemyk's coffin in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, the authorities decide to use all available means to intimidate the witness and Grzegorz's mother, trying to prevent Jurek from testifying in court.

Cast

*Mateusz Górski as

Agnieszka Grochowska Agnieszka Grochowska (, born 31 December 1979) is a Polish film and theatre actress. She is a two-time recipient of Polish Film Awards having won the Polish Academy Award for Best Actress in 2013 and the Polish Academy Award for Best Supportin ...

as Grażyna Popiel (Jurek's mother) *

Tomasz Ziętek Tomasz Ziętek (born 28 June 1989, Inowrocław) is a Polish film and theatre actor as well as musician and guitarist. Life and career Ziętek was born on 28 June 1989 in Inowrocław. He graduated from the Bolesław III Wrymouth High School No. 1 ...

as Jurek Popiel *

Tomasz Kot Tomasz Kot (Polish pronunciation: ; born 21 April 1977) is a Polish film, television, and theatre actor. He has appeared in more than 30 films and 26 plays as well as dozens of television series. He received the Polish Academy Award for Best Act ...

as Kowalczyk *

Robert Wieckiewicz The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...

as General

Czesław Kiszczak Czesław Jan Kiszczak (; 19 October 1925 – 5 November 2015) was a Polish general, communist-era interior minister (1981–1990) and prime minister (1989). In 1981 he played a key role in imposing martial law and suppression of the ''Solidari ...

Jacek Braciak Jacek Braciak (; born 12 May 1968) is a Polish film and theater actor. He has appeared in more than 60 films since 1991. He received the Polish Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for '' Edi'' (2003), ''Rose'' (2012) and '' Leave No Traces'' ...

as Tadeusz Popiel (Jurek's father) * Aleksandra Konieczna as Wiesława Bardon *Sandra Korzeniak as Barbara Sadowska

Reception

Review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

gives the film 62% approval rating based on 13 reviews, with an average rating of 6.40 out of 10. Wendy Ide of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' called ''Leave No Traces'' " meticulously detailed thriller", while Cath Clarke of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' said that "In the end, this film is never uninteresting but fails to gather enough pace or power for the slog of the marathon". Paul Whitington of the ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...

'' had criticized film's length but praised it for being a "conspiracy drama", adding that " t'sa lesson from history that remains depressingly relevant". Kevin Maher of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' said that "

he film is a He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter call ...

deep dive into student's murder is self-important". According to Guy Lodge of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', the film is " moving but somewhat congested", while Keith Uhlich of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' described ''Leave No Traces'' as "Too torturous by half". While attending film's Venice screening, ''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...

''s Valerie Complex wrote that "''Leave No Traces'' often feels formless and unremarkable".

References

External links

* 2021 drama films 2021 films Polish drama films 2020s Polish-language films Films set in Poland Films set in Warsaw {{2020s-drama-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links