Leave No Traces
Leave No Traces (Polish: Żeby nie było śladów) is a 2021 Polish drama film directed by Jan P. Matuszyński.[3] It was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 78th Venice International Film Festival.[4] It was selected as the Polish entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards.[5][6] The film is based on the book Żeby nie było śladów by Cezary Łazarewicz, which received the Nike Award in 2017.
Leave No Traces | |
---|---|
Polish | Żeby nie było śladów |
Directed by | Jan P. Matuszyński |
Produced by | Leszek Bodzak Aneta Cebula-Hickinbotham |
Starring | Tomasz Ziętek Sandra Korzeniak Jacek Braciak Agnieszka Grochowska Robert Więckiewicz Tomasz Kot Aleksandra Konieczna Sebastian Pawlak Andrzej Chyra Michał Żurawski Bartłomiej Topa Mateusz Górski |
Cinematography | Kacper Fertacz |
Edited by | Przemyslaw Chruscielewski |
Music by | Ibrahim Maalouf |
Production company | Aurum Film |
Release date |
|
Running time | 160 minutes[1] |
Country | Poland |
Language | Polish |
Box office | $ 482 960[2] |
Plot
Jurek, the only witness to the state-sanctioned murder of high school student Grzegorz Przemyk, is targeted by the government during the 1980s era of martial law in Poland.[5]
Cast
- Mateusz Górski as Grzegorz Przemyk
- Agnieszka Grochowska as Grażyna Popiel (Jurek's mother)
- Tomasz Ziętek as Jurek Popiel
- Tomasz Kot as Kowalczyk
- Robert Wieckiewicz as General Czesław Kiszczak
- Jacek Braciak as Tadeusz Popiel (Jurek's father)
- Aleksandra Konieczna as Wiesława Bardon
- Sandra Korzeniak as Barbara Sadowska
Reception
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film 62% approval rating based on 13 reviews, with an average rating of 6.40 out of 10.[7]
Wendy Ide of The Observer called Leave No Traces "[a] meticulously detailed thriller",[8] while Cath Clarke of The Guardian said that "In the end, this film is never uninteresting but fails to gather enough pace or power for the slog of the marathon".[1]
Paul Whitington of the Irish Independent had criticized film's length but praised it for being a "conspiracy drama", adding that "[it's] a lesson from history that remains depressingly relevant".[9]
Kevin Maher of The Times said that "[the film is a] deep dive into student's murder is self-important".[10]
According to Guy Lodge of Variety, the film is "[a] moving but somewhat congested",[11] while Keith Uhlich of The Hollywood Reporter described Leave No Traces as "Too torturous by half".[12]
While attending film's Venice screening, Deadline Hollywood's Valerie Complex wrote that "Leave No Traces often feels formless and unremarkable".[13]
See also
References
- Clarke, Cath (6 June 2022). "Leave No Traces review – dense, detailed reconstruction of the killing of a Polish teen". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
- "Leave No Traces (2021)". Box Office Mojo.
- Vourlias, Christopher (4 March 2020). "New Europe Nabs World Rights to Jan P. Matuszynski's 'Leave No Traces'". Variety.
- Roxborough, Scott (26 July 2021). "Venice Film Festival 2021 Full Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- Grater, Tom (3 September 2021). "Poland Submits Venice Premiere 'Leave No Traces' To International Oscar Race". Deadline. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- Dowell, Stuart (6 September 2021). "Film depicting true life story of poet's murder by communist police nominated for Oscars". Retrieved 23 October 2022.
- "Leave No Traces (2021)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
- Ide, Wendy (12 June 2022). "Leave No Traces review – tense drama of police brutality in communist Poland". The Observer. Retrieved 23 October 2022 – via The Guardian.
- Whitington, Paul (9 June 2022). "Jurassic World Dominion movie review: Lazy, witless rehash of the spine-tingling moments that once made this dinosaur franchise stumbles closer to extinction". Irish Independent. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
- Maher, Kevin (10 June 2022). "Leave No Traces review — deep dive into student's murder is self-important". The Times. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
- Lodge, Guy (10 September 2021). "'Leave No Traces' Review: Police Brutality Triggers a Chain of Systemic Corruption in This Solemn Polish Procedural".
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(help) - Uhlich, Keith (9 September 2022). "'Leave No Traces': Film Review - Venice 2021". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
- Complex, Valerie (9 September 2022). "Venice Review: 'Leave No Traces'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 23 October 2022.