Directed by:
Robert GlinskiCinematography:
Petro AleksowskiComposer:
Jacek KuśmierczykCast:
Aleksandra Gietner, Karolina Sobczak, Zbigniew Zamachowski, Malgorzata Rozniatowska, Krzysztof Kiersznowski, Violetta Arlak, Andrzej Chudy (more)Plots(1)
Tereska lives with her parents and little sister in one of the many pre-fab blocks of flats built under the Communists. Nothing about Tereska’s family is exceptional: her father occasionally drinks and her mother, a pious woman, rather blatantly prefers Tereska’s younger sister. Tereska dreams of escaping this world and becoming a fashion designer. She starts attending a sewing school where she meets Renata, a more experienced girl who strongly influences her life: she tries cigarettes and alcohol, steals for the first time, and gains her first, none-too-pleasant sexual experience. Of course, hanging out with Renata and a group of boys from the housing complex is no way for Tereska to find the true feelings she is longing for. Her only ally is Edzio, a disabled guard with whom she can act naturally; in his company she even sometimes seems happy. But in the end, he’s the one Tessa punishes for the dearth of feelings around her. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)
(more)Reviews (1)
The realistic, b/w filmed fall of a girl called Tessa, who is growing up in the bleak environment of a socially marginalized family in a high-rise housing estate in Warsaw. After joining a new school, she makes the wrong friends and under the bad influence of a friend Renata, she has her first experiences with alcohol, cigarettes, stealing, sex and violence. She doesn’t have much support at home: her father is an unemployed alcoholic and her mother works like a slave for extremely low wages at the local factory. If it weren’t for the finale, this would have been just another of those movies about growing up that lacks any particular oomph. However, the ending and mainly the performance by Alexandra Gietner in the role of Tessa is well worth watching.
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